Don't hold back
by SpicyTomato
Summary: Alfred and Arthur have been friends for as long as they can remember. However once Alfred starts to form a crush on another one of their classmates, Arthur's true feelings start to emerge.
1. Chapter 1

It was a bright summer's day. However, Arthur was spending his morning in the library. Arthur let out a long sigh as he looked out the window. He could see Alfred and Matthew playing catch and Kiku talking with Feliciano. Kiku being outside surprised him since usually himself and Kiku would take time to study together in the library. It wasn't that Arthur didn't want to go outside, he just valued his education more than his social life. Still, he supposed a short break from studying couldn't hurt.

Arthur gathered his books and proceeded to the check-out desk. There was no queue, _'figures'_ he thought as he placed his books on the counter. He gazed around the empty library,the reflection of the sun through the window made the room no lighter and it was just as dreary as usual.

_'The librarian is taking her time isn't she'_,Arthur cleared his throat hoping to alert the librarian who he guessed was in the office behind the desk. Still nothing.

"Excuse me? Hello?" He uttered,leaning over the counter slightly, his voice seeming to get louder by each word. Arthur sighed, the librarian must have been on lunch break, either that or she didn't expect anyone to be in the library when the weather outside was so nice. Of course she was right, it was just Arthur and no one else.

"Hey Artie buddy that's where you got to, go figure!" his American friend laughed, Arthur was surprised by the sudden voice.

"Oh..Alfred Hello...I was.." he muttered. It felt like he hadn't communicated with anyone in a such long time ,since he had been alone for quite a few hours, so he struggled to get his words out at first.

"Huh? Cat got your tongue?" Arthur gazed up at the blonde man who was excitingly hopping from one foot to the other, he seemed eager for some reason.

"No I just can't seem to find the location of the librarian, I really need to take these books out but I don't suppose I could wait around for her-" His sentence was cut short by Alfred's laughter.

"Oh my god dude you're pathetic!" Alfred's laughter grew louder and Arthur shot him an angry glare.

"Why don't you just take the books with you? No one will miss 'em." Arthur was almost startled by Alfred's suggestion as it seemed so simple and easy, but he refused to accept that Alfred's suggestion was a logical one.

"Because I'm not a bloody hooligan, that's why!" Arthur exclaimed, he saw Alfred's look of confusion change to a smirk. Alfred closed his eyes whilst stretching his arms towards the ceiling.

"Okay well if you'd rather stay in this old,damp,boring library by yourself all day then sure, fine.." Alfred opened one eye to look at Arthur who had already picked up his books and was heading towards the exit, pushing past Alfred on his way out.

Alfred stumbled, he was now anxious that he had already pissed Arthur off - and it wasn't even noon yet. As Arthur reached the door he stopped and looked behind his shoulder at Alfred who just stood there.

Arthur smiled "Come on then."

Alfred hurried towards the door

"Yeah yeah. Oh dude, that reminds me, are you ready to play some extreme Frisbee?" Alfred snorted with laughter at the thought.

"Is this something you made up?" Arthur asked. "What on earth could make Frisbee extreme?" Arthur brought his hand to his face as he wondered how long it took for Alfred to think this idea up. He admired his creativeness,however.

Alfred stepped in front of Arthur blocking his path.

"Yeah it's an original idea by me, Alfred F. Jones." He stated, pointing his thumb at himself proudly.

He leaned towards his British friend until he got a little too close for Arthur's liking. Arthur didn't know what to expect so he completely froze. Alfred looked left and right and whispered "Copyrighted.." whilst slowly moving backwards and laughing hysterically at himself. Arthur was still frozen in place, he felt his face burning up and looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"_I thought he was actually going to.."_

Alfred stopped laughing to see why Arthur wasn't laughing too.

"Yo Artie what's up with you? Your face has gone redder than a tomato!" Alfred walked closer to Arthur and leaned in close to his face again, Arthur flinched.

"Why are you looking down at the floor like that?" Alfred tilted his head in confusion. His puzzled look soon changed as his eyes grew wide with realisation.

"Oh my god. Dude. Did you..Did you think I was gonna.." Alfred failed to finished his sentence as he burst out laughing, spitting on Arthur in the process. The truth was, Arthur did actually think for a moment that Alfred was going to kiss him. The way he leaned in close – too close - for far too long.

Arthur snapped out of his frozen stance and shook his head at the thought of Alfred kissing him, quickly exclaiming "N-no! How could you think that! That is absolutely preposterous!".

Alfred was already on his way out of the building by this point, still laughing. "Dude, just wait until the guys hear about this!" he uttered, quickening his exit.

"Hey wait a second! Come back here!" Arthur shouted as he started running after the annoying American.


	2. Chapter 2

The bell rung signalling the beginning of classes. Arthur went and sat in his usual seat by the window. He enjoyed gazing out of it and day dreaming.

_The waves crashed against the ship in the wild and unruly storm. Captain Arthur Kirkland manned the wheel, steering left and right vigorously, almost as if it were a battle between him and the wheel rather than the ship and the sea._

"_Captain! I don't think she can hold out much longer!" one crew member cried._

"_Arrrg..she'll hold out as long as I tell 'er to hold out!" Arthur exclaimed, trying to shout over the sound of the vicious waves. _

_He spun the wheel, his old leather boots gripping to the wooden deck as best they could. Just as Arthur had steadied the ship he heard footsteps behind him, darting his eyes to the left, he spun around in one quick motion. The man that stood in front of him had leathery skin and wore an eye patch, his teeth were rotten and there were gruesome scars all over his body. The most notable thing about him however, was his beard. It was as black as night – just as the legends said._

_Arthur smirked "Well, if it isn't old Blackbeard the pirate." Arthur spoke with confidence, stepping towards the man. He placed his hands on his hips "To what do I owe the pleasure?". _

_By the look on Blackbeard's face he didn't want to play games, he blurted out "Give me back my treasure, you swine!". His gravely voice lingered on Arthur's ears for a moment._

_Arthur snickered. "If you want that treasure back..come and get it!" Arthur grabbed his sword from his side and whipped it out so it was only inches from Blackbeard's face. Blackbeard grabbed his own sword and thrust it at Arthur with lightening speed,Arthur stumbled backwards but was able to make a quick comeback by catching Blackbeard off-guard with a strike to his left shoulder. Blackbeard howled in pain, but luckily he was right-handed so the fighting continued. The blades clashed together as the match became more intense. Suddenly, Blackbeard used his foot to knock Arthur off balance and he fell on to the floor. Arthur dropped his sword in the process and now it lay too far to reach. Blackbeard laughed, pointing his sword only inches away from Arthur's neck._

"_Any last words, Captain?" he sneered._

_Arthur's eyes darted to his sword only feet across him. He looked up at Blackbeard and smirked. "Are you kidding?" He spoke in a haughty tone "I'm just getting started!" and with that he kicked Blackbeard in the groin and made a run for his sword. Arthur picked up his sword and walked towards Blackbeard slowly, who was now cowering on the floor. Finally, he had done it. He had the upper hand. Now everyone throughout the seven seas would know his name, Arthur Kirkland!_

"Arthur Kirkland?" Arthur was forcefully dragged out of his imagination and was brought back into the real world. He looked up to find his angry English teacher glaring at him. Arthur's face flushed with embarrassment _'just how long was I day dreaming?'. _He could already picture what Alfred was going to say in his head, to create further embarrassment for him. He turned to his left, only to find that Alfred didn't seem to have been paying attention at all. He saw the American scribbling on a bit of paper while giggling to himself. Moments later he leaned back on his chair, passing the piece of paper to Matthew who was sat behind him.

Arthur was curious, _'Just what was written on this piece of paper? What could Alfred possibly want to say to Matthew that he didn't want anyone else to hear?'. _He studied Matthew's reaction closely. Matthew's eyes darted across the paper, he then tilted his head in confusion.

"Um Alfred..I can't read this." he spoke, Arthur face-palmed as their teacher turned around.

"No talking in class!" she pointed her finger at Matthew. "Principle's office. Now." Matthew glanced at Alfred who gave him a thumbs up, and sighed before leaving the classroom along with the teacher.

Arthur felt bad for Matthew, it seemed that no one ever noticed he was around. And the one time he was noticed, he gets in trouble because of Alfred. _'Talk about bad luck.'_. As soon as the classroom door closed Alfred burst out laughing.

"Oh man! Poor dude. He needs to learn to whisper." Alfred got out of his chair and strolled towards Arthur.

"Is that supposed to be ironic?" Arthur asked halfheartedly. Alfred sat on the end of Arthur's desk, yawning.

"Ironic? Dude nobody knows what that word means..." It was hard to make out what Alfred was saying as he was yawning, but Arthur figured it couldn't have been of any relevance anyway.

"So..what was that note about?" Arthur tried to ask in the most casual way possible.

"What's it to you?" Alfred answered back, however it came out a bit harsher than he had intended. Arthur raised his eyebrow. "I'm kidding, chill. It was just an inside joke. Someone like you just wouldn't understand.." Alfred put his hands behind his head, shutting his eyes and smirking.

"It seems Matthew didn't understand it either." Arthur responded.

Alfred brushed his fingers through his hair until his hand rested on the back of his neck "Yeah well that's probably his fault. He probably just didn't read it right.".

_'Of course, because nothing is ever your fault Alfred' _Arthur thought, his facial expression turning bitter. Arthur slightly shook his head, almost as if to shake of his lingering expression. He stood up and walked over to Matthew's desk, picking up the piece of scrap paper.

"Hey! You're not allowed to read that!" Alfred tried to snatch the paper out of Arthur's hands. Knowing that Alfred was stronger than him, Arthur quickly examined the paper as he knew Alfred would snatch it back within seconds.

There appeared to be drawings, badly drawn drawings. One was unmistakably meant to be Alfred, with his trademark glasses. Also,this particular figure Alfred seemed to have spent the most time on, he also had a big head which Arthur thought was fitting. The second figure looked like Matthew with the wavy hair and curly ahoge. There were speech bubbles above them but, Matthew was correct, the speech within them was illegible. He was about the pass the paper back over to Alfred when he saw another figure to the far right. It had scrappy hair and a big bushy...

"Uni-brow?!" Arthur exclaimed as Alfred snatched back the paper. "Why do you always draw me with a uni-brow?" Arthur raised his voice and Alfred snorted.

"'Cause it's hilarious." he answered holding the paper in front of him, admiring his work. Arthur sighed, he was annoyed at himself. He actually believed for a moment that the note contained something important. But of course, what else should he expect from Alfred?

_'I keep over thinking – like always.' _he glanced over at Alfred who was explaining each doodle to him. Instead of listening, Arthur thought about how relieved he was that Alfred seemed to have forgotten the events that had happened yesterday. Thankfully, he managed to catch up with Alfred and bribe him with McDonalds before he managed to tell anybody. He didn't want rumours spreading around that he actually liked Alfred, let alone loved him.

"Yo, Artie? Hello?" It appeared that Arthur had been staring at Alfred for far too long, without speaking. He quickly snapped out of it.

"Oh, sorry. It's just, you have some food around your mouth and it's quite distracting." It was a pathetic way to cover up, but what else was he supposed to say?

"Oh damn really?" Alfred touched his hand to his mouth, feeling around. He then brought his gaze to Arthur who was – once again – frozen with awkwardness. Seeing him like this always made Alfred smile inside _'Hah. He's so freaking awkward it's adorable.'_

Alfred then raised a suggestive eyebrow. "Wanna lick it off?" he said in his most suggestive voice and then moved his tongue along his lips.

There was silence for a moment. Arthur's cheeks went pink. _'Stupid stupid stupid stupid! Why would he say something like that? That's no way to joke about!'._

In an attempt to cover up his now red cheeks, Arthur broke the silence,uttering

"Is it hot in here..or is it just me..". Not only did his words come out weak and muffled but he started realising that his choice of words sounded very suggestive indeed. Trying to find a quick escape from the situation, Arthur darted his eyes left and right. Only to find that everyone in the class seemed to have been listening in on their conversation. Just before Arthur died on embarrassment, Alfred burst out laughing.

The teacher then swung open the door and Alfred shot back into his seat at lightening speed. Arthur, who was still debating as to whether that conversation had just happened or not, did not move from his position.

"Kirkland. You better return to your seat, or would you like a visit to the principle's office as well?".

Arthur hurried to his seat replying "No ma'am.".

For the rest of the lesson Arthur had his elbow placed on the table and his right hand over his face, as he tapped his notebook with the pen in his left hand. He could hardly concentrate on the lesson after all that. A million thoughts were racing through his mind.

_'Does he think I like him now? Oh god I think I'd die if that were true..why would he make such a suggestive comment though? Maybe..he likes me? No, that's ridiculous Arthur! Stop thinking so much, I'm sure Alfred has forgotten about it already..' _He didn't dare look to see if Alfred was getting on with his work or not, in the fear that he cheeks would turn bright red again.

Alfred wasn't doing his work, however. He was grinning at Arthur. _'The poor dude won't even look at me now. Awh he's such a dork.' _Alfred chuckled with amusement.

* * *

Arthur let out a long sigh of relief. It was finally the end of class, he could finally get out of the school and return home to peace and quiet.

"Yo Artie!" Alfred called over to Arthur who was walking to his locker. Arthur's faced dropped at the sight of his American frenemy. Alfred noticed this "Well it's nice to see you too" He mumbled. Alfred's sarcasm made Arthur smile, it was refreshing in a weird way.

"Hi, Alfred. Is there something you needed from me?" Arthur asked as he unlocked his locker and carefully placed his class notes and textbooks inside.

"No 'course not! I just need your company.." Alfred let out a nervous laugh. Arthur raised his eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips. "Okay..dude I need your wallet!" Alfred said grabbing Arthur's shoulders in the process. Arthur removed Alfred's hands from his shoulders.

"You must be joking, never would I ever in a million years lend you money. Not after all the times I _**have**_ lent you money and you still haven't paid me back.". He crossed his arms and tilted his head up to remove his gaze from Alfred's.

Arthur reminded himself of the various times he had lent Alfred money. There was that new video game that Alfred wanted,Arthur agreed to wait all night in line with him for it and when they finally got to the checkout Alfred said _"You have enough money right? 'Cause I kinda forgot my wallet.". _And Arthur could think of at least ten times when he had bought Alfred McDonalds before _"Don't worry dude, I'll defo pay you back this time I swear!" _he said,_**every single time.**_

Detecting the anger in Arthur's face_**, **_Alfred stated "But you don't have to worry about paying me back this time!". Arthur turned to look at Alfred, confused.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because this time you're doing it out of the kindness of your heart." Alfred winked at Arthur.

"I don't understand what you mean. I think I've shown you enough kindness over the years."

"Nah ya see, this time, you're gonna pay or I'm gonna go ahead and tell everyone about the incident from yesterday!" Alfred pointed at Arthur for dramatic effect.

_'The incident from yesterday? He couldn't possibly mean..' _his thoughts were cut short by Alfred.

"That's right! Man, it's fun to play dirty!" it turns out Arthur was easier to read than he originally thought.

"What incident?" Arthur tried to play it cool. "Oh, that? Well I think you made all of that up in your head anyway. You kiss me? I don't think so. Never in a million years would that happen." Arthur shook his head as the thought of Alfred kissing him crossed his mind.

"Maybe you're right."Alfred raised his hands,palms facing Arthur. Arthur smirked, _'Yes, I am right aren't I..' _"still, that won't stop me from telling everyone.". Arthur snapped out of his confidence._ 'My reputation will be ruined'_ he groaned.

"Okay fine. I'll give you some cash. But first, how much do you need? And what is it for?" Alfred pretended to brush dirt from his shoulders as he chuckled.

"Well I promised Matthew that I'd treat him to a McDonalds after what happened today in class. And obviously I wouldn't wanna miss out on the opportunity of eating at McDonalds so I'll need money for my food too..And yeah, if you want anything then add on the money for that." He gave a thumbs up to Arthur who sighed.

It was actually a sigh of relief. He imagined Alfred asking for something that he could barely afford or that wouldn't be possible to get. Last year Alfred asked for a real space ship for his birthday, what was Arthur supposed to expect?

Arthur swung his bad around his shoulder. "Oh all right." he said as he and Alfred walked out of the building.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur pulled up into a space at the McDonalds car park. Alfred rushed out of the car "Yeah! Oh my god it feels like its been forever since I had a big mac!" he hopped about with glee.

"But you came here yesterday?" Arthur got out of the car and locked the doors. He was surprised that Alfred wasn't fat by now from over-eating, and he didn't recall him going to the gym that often.

Alfred turned to face Arthur and was now walking backwards towards the entrance.

"Yeah but yesterday I had a double cheeseburger." Alfred stated matter-of-factly whilst holding one finger up.

"Watch out, you'll fall over if you're not careful. Seriously, every time we go out I have to treat you like a baby." Arthur crossed his arms whilst following after him.

"I'll be fine Mr. Bossy jeeez." Alfred placed his hands behind his head and continued to walk backwards. "Sometimes I think that you enjoy ruining my fun, what'll it take you to lighten up-" Arthur and Alfred froze simultaneously as they heard noises coming from Arthur's car.

"Holy crap your car is haunted!" Alfred stumbled on his own feet, causing him to fall onto his bottom.

"I told you.." Arthur mumbled "And my car isn't haunted!" he exclaimed while making his way over to his car, Alfred picked himself up and followed after him. Suddenly one of the car's back windows started rolling down, causing Arthur and Alfred to jump into each other's arms in a cartoon-like fashion.

Matthew poked his head out of the window. "uhh..guys? You kind of..locked me in the car.." he started nervously laughing, and before they knew it, they were all nervously laughing at the awkward situation. Arthur and Alfred looked at each other, only just realising they were in each other's arms, and simultaneously took a large step back from one another. There was no time to ponder on the thought of how they had just been embracing however, as Matthew was still locked in the car.

There was silence for a moment.

Alfred, of course, was the first one to break the silence. "Oh dude, sorry! We didn't do it on purpose we swear, we just.."

"Forgot you were in there.." Arthur continued. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and unlocked the car as quickly as he could. He was ashamed that he allowed himself to forget about Matthew and leave him in the car. He expected such things from Alfred, but himself? Never. He was a gentleman. He suddenly felt obliged to live up to this gentlemen stereotype and so he offered a hand to Matthew who was struggling to make his way out of the car.

"Thank you" Matthew said shyly. His cheeks flushed a soft pink and Arthur smiled.

The three of them made their way to the McDonalds entrance,Arthur and Alfred made sure to keep a close eye on Matthew this time. Arthur opened the door for Matthew and Alfred gave him a firm pat on the back. However,it seems this pat had more force than Alfred had intended and so Matthew stumbled,went flying forwards, and landed face first on the floor. Panicking, Arthur and Alfred rushed to his side.

"Oh man, are you okay? Sorry 'bout that buddy!" Alfred said whilst rubbing the back of his neck, nervous laughter soon followed. Matthew sat up, rubbing the back of his head. His cheeks were now red from embarrassment.

Arthur's hand reached out towards Matthew to help him up "Alfred you really need to be more careful, he could've gotten seriously hurt!" Arthur stated, glaring at the irritating blonde.

"Hey, don't make it sound like this is my fault! Coming to McDonalds was all your idea!" Alfred shouted back,stomping his right foot on the floor.

"No it wasn't!" Arthur raised his voice. His anger grew as he pulled his hand away from Matthew's, clenched it in a fist and shook it at Alfred. There's nothing Arthur hated more than being accused of something he hadn't done.

The Brit and the American were now in a full-scale argument. Matthew was still on the floor, he noticed people around them staring. His cheeks flushed an ever darker red.

"Uh..guys? It's fine, I'm fine! Please stop fighting, okay?" Alfred and Arthur completely ignored him and kept arguing. He tried talking louder, "Guys, you really need to stop! People are staring.." but it was still no use. Of course it wouldn't be, no one ever notices Matthew, let alone these two. He sighed, clumsily picked himself off of the floor, walked over to one of the booths, and sat down. He rested his elbows on the table while cupping each of his, now extremely warm, cheeks.

Arthur looked over at Matthew. He felt terrible, here Alfred was trying to make up for what happened earlier and now, he and Alfred had just made him more upset because of their constant bickering.

"And another thing-" Alfred shouted but was cut off as Arthur raised his hand.

"Look..look what we've done now" he murmured pointing towards Matthew.

The two of them hung their heads in shame. They looked at one another, sharing embarrassed glances.

Arthur gave a half smile, "Let's not fight anymore today." he moved the hair out of his face.

"Yeah" Alfred agreed "for Matthew's sake". Alfred gave Arthur a thumbs up and in return Arthur nodded to Alfred before rushing over to the booth where Matthew was sitting.

"We're..really sorry Matthew. For everything.." Arthur was still embarrassed, but for now he just hoped that his apology sounded genuine enough.

"Yeah, and to say sorry I'll buy you what ever you want!"Alfred exclaimed, Arthur flinched. "You can have as much as you want too. If I were you I'd probably order five double cheeseburgers, six big macs ooh and don't forget the fries! You couldn't go wrong with four McFlurries either, and hey while we're here you may as well order the twenty chicken nugget sharing box am I right?" Alfred folded his arms and nodded his head as if he were proud of his suggestion. Arthur shot Alfred an angry look but Alfred just laughed it off.

"Thanks for the offer..But I'm not actually feeling very hungry right now." Matthew mumbled,looking down at the table.

Arthur let out a sigh of relief. He was glad that Matthew was the way he was, polite and quiet. It was a nice change to the loud,cockiness that he was used to.

"Hey Arthur" Arthur turned to look at Alfred, he was lost in his thoughts yet again. "Just get me a big mac meal, kay?" Alfred slid into the booth seat opposite Matthew.

"Oh, wouldn't you like a cheeseburger as well? Or how about extra fries?" Arthur asked, the sarcasm making his lips tingle. Arthur crossed his arms and swiftly turned his head to the right, Matthew started to panic. _'Please..no more arguing..'_

"Nah I'm good. I'm on a diet." Arthur began to wonder if Alfred actually understood the concept of sarcasm. Arthur's usual remarks seemed to have no effect on him and his replies always sounded extremely genuine. Arthur raised his eyebrow and Alfred shot him a grin.

Arthur rolled his emerald eyes "God help us all" he mumbled as he walked to the back of the queue. Alfred ignored him and turned his attention to Matthew.

"Looks like we finally got rid of him!" Alfred chuckled, Matthew forced a smile onto his face. Alfred detected the awkwardness between them "Bro, I swear that'll never happen again. And don't worry, I'll make lots of time to hang with you to make up for it, kay?". Alfred grabbed Matthews hands. Matthews cheeks, which had only just returned to their original colour, flushed pink.

"Okay."

Arthur strolled back towards the booth "Hey Alfred, you forgot to tell me what drink-" he stopped as he saw Alfred laughing, clutching Matthew's hands between his own. Arthur's bushy eyebrows crinkled and he spun around in one motion and made his way back over to the cashier. _'What was that feeling just now?' _It felt like he had been betrayed in a strange way. Arthur pondered at the idea of it being jealously, but quickly dismissed this thought.

Arthur returned to the booth with Alfred's tray of food. Sliding in next to Matthew he muttered "Here's your food."

"Awesome!" Alfred excitedly shot back. Picking up his drink he asked "You got coke right?"

"Yes" Arthur smirked "Diet coke" he chuckled to himself, but then stopped realising that what he had just done was so petty.

"Aww what? But diet is the worst kind of coke!" Alfred wined,slurping up the coke nonetheless.

"Well you did say you were on a diet, I thought it was rather fitting." Arthur was satisfied that he had managed to justify his actions.

Alfred gobbled up his food like there was no tomorrow and attempted to talk whilst chewing. It seemed Alfred couldn't go two seconds without talking. Matthew became uncomfortable and leaned further back into his seat as food was being spat towards his face by the self-indulgent American.

In an attempt to distract Matthew from Alfred's terrible eating habits, Arthur placed a hand on his shoulder. "So..is there anything you'd like to do after this?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh no, that's okay. I'm fine" Matthew saw Arthur's expression change to one of concern "Really I am..but thank you for the offer." Arthur nodded in response, not quite sure what else to say. He wanted to treat Matthew, he deserved it after all that had happened to him today, but he wasn't about to force him in to anything. Alfred on the other hand, seemed to have different ideas.

"Nu uh" Alfred continued chewing his burger and then swallowed. "We're not gonna take no for an answer!" he slammed his fist on the table, the force made his fries bounce. "We're gonna give you the best day out you've ever had to make up for our jerkyness!". Matthew started biting his lip while he thought about what kind of things awaited him for the rest of the day.

"Hang on a minute." Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose "It's not up to you what Matthew does today, if he really doesn't want to go anywhere then just leave him be." Alfred shoved the remainder of his fries into his mouth.

"But he does wanna hang." Alfred leaned over the table until his face was only inches away from Matthews "You do wanna hang, right?". Matthew opened his mouth to speak but stopped as no words seemed to be coming out. He became flustered, Alfred was so close to him that he could feel his warm breath and the smell of salty fries.

In an attempt to regain his personal space, Matthew blurted out "Yeah, of course I want to." whilst nodding his head repeatedly. It seemed to have worked as Alfred sat back down, he saw Arthur roll his eyes again. "It sounds like it could be.." he glanced at Alfred who was now grinning at him "fun". He would much rather have gone home for the day, he had had enough torment for one day and just wanted to sleep it off. However, he just couldn't say no to his bright eyed friend. Of course, Arthur didn't believe for a second that Matthew really wanted to stay so he figured he would try and make the time as enjoyable as possible for him.

"Told ya! Off we go then" Alfred rose out of his seat and started marching towards to door, expecting the others to follow. Arthur wondered if Alfred really knew the extent of his power of persuasion. Obviously they only worked on certain people, he would certainly never fall for it.

Sighing, Arthur picked up Alfred's food tray and took it over to the bin. He was surprised as he saw Matthew's hand push the metal flap open for him.

"Oh, thank you" he placed the trash in the bin and began dusting off his hands. He gave Matthew a smile and the Canadian returned the favour, but this smile felt more genuine that the one's he had given earlier in the day. Matthew's light blonde hair looked so soft, it wasn't straggly like his own. He couldn't help but give Matthew a light pat on the head, he just hoped that he wasn't being patronising. _'He must receive hair products from Francis or something' _even the thought of Francis made him grind his teeth together.

"Hey guys I thought you were right behind me, what gives?" Alfred asked, poking his head round the door. Arthur and Matthew followed Alfred through the door, Arthur's hand gently guiding Matthew forwards.

Arthur unlocked the car when Alfred grabbed his hand,pulling him backwards. "After you" the American said to Matthew, gesturing towards the vehicle. Alfred placed his arm around Arthur and spun them both around to face the other direction to initiate a private conversation "Well that went better than I expected".

"What did you expect? World war three?" Arthur was baffled by Alfred's words, if anything he would've said that the day couldn't have gone any _**worse.**_

"I dunno, I just expected Matthew to be kinda lame. But he's freaking adorkable." Alfred didn't even attempt at whispering, he chuckled. Arthur flinched at the cute new adjective Alfred had used to describe Matthew.

"Tch."

"Dude, don't be jealous." Arthur's eyes grew wide, _'what is he talking about?'. _"You're still my BFF" Alfred squeezed Arthur's waist, and his natural reaction was to push him away.

"Get yours hands off me you twit." He hissed, Alfred laughed in response to which Arthur was relieved. Alfred ran towards the car, and jumped into the driver's seat.

"Hurry up grandpa" he remarked, honking the horn. Arthur couldn't help but smile and hop into the passenger seat, not minding if Alfred drove this time around.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur knew where they were heading, it took over half an hour to get there, Alfred talked about himself almost the whole journey over and his speedy driving made Matthew feel nauseous. After numerous attempts of Arthur asking where they were going, Alfred only replied _'you'll see when we get there'_. As their destination came into view, Arthur let out a long sigh.

"An amusement park" he mumbled, scratching his head. '_This looks expensive, and somewhat dangerous' _he thought, looking up at the rusty structures. Much of the bright paint had peeled off of the roller-coasters, not that it made them look any more appealing in the first place. He had always been worried that the structures would fall apart beneath him which was partly why he didn't enjoy them. The other reason was that he seemed to throw up almost every time he went on one, Francis still teased him to this day about the time he threw up whilst on the tea cup to say,Arthur was never really a fan of amusement parks.

"Oh dude, it sounds so lame when you say it" Alfred chuckled as Arthur rolled his eyes. "So Matt, are you ready to have the most awesome day of your life?" he shot Matthew a wide grin.

"I'm..as ready as I'll ever be" the shy Canadian responded, plastering a false smile onto his face, Alfred didn't seem to notice.

"Well alrighty! C'mon!" Alfred took Matthew by surprise as he grabbed his hand and dragged him into the amusement park.

"No need to be so hasty Alfred" Arthur stated, more for the concern of Matthew as it looked as though Alfred was going to tear his arm off.

"Yeah there is! The amusement park closes at 8pm!" he exclaimed "We've only got two hours, we've gotta hurry if we're gonna go on all of the rides"

Matthew gulped "..all of them?" he gazed up at the rides, some of them were _**huge**_. Matthew wouldn't have minded going on some of the smaller rides, but those big ones? He didn't know if his heart would be able to take it – plus he was terrified of heights. Even the thought of going on them was making him feel nauseous, bringing back painful memories of the journey over.

"You're not going to make me pay for this too, are you?" Arthur asked, starting to sound genuinely concerned.

"Nah, I've got coupons" Alfred replied, smiling as he watched Arthur's expression of fear turn to one of relief. _'Thank god for Alfred and his coupons'_ , Arthur thought.

* * *

Alfred and Matthew went backwards and forwards through the amusement park, going on many of the rides. Arthur insisted that he not go on any rides and instead waited around for them to finish, holding on to their jackets,cellphones and wallets for them.

Alfred had persuaded Matthew to go on the 'haunted house' ride, saying _'it's not that scary,I promise' _but he had thrown that statement around quite a lot throughout the day, Arthur had noticed_. _The rides may not have been scary for him but ,by the reluctant look on Matthew's face, Arthur could tell that Matthew was not enjoying himself.

Whilst he waited, Arthur perched himself on a nearby bench. Picking at the cotton candy that he had bought using Alfred's spare change. Despite what he had said earlier, Alfred did have some money on him _'the wanker'_. Arthur started to daydream and thought about all the homework that he needed to finish. Feeling stressed, he changed his thoughts to Kiku, wondering if he liked cotton candy or not. He then couldn't help but start thinking about Alfred, the guy that he couldn't seem to get off of his mind lately.

He could picture him so vividly, almost as if he were right there in front of him. His ocean blue eyes were strangely warm and inviting and his smile – when sincere – would melt his heart. Arthur then reminded himself of Alfred's body which he saw glimpses of in the school changing rooms , his chest was so tanned and his muscles very toned and defined. This wasn't a sight that Arthur could forget easily. Arthur could feel his cheeks growing warm at the thought of Alfred's rippling muscles. Arthur shook his head, it was only natural that he would look at him right? I mean it was hard not to look, he thought, Alfred wasn't shy when it came to removing his clothing. But doesn't that mean that there was a chance that Alfred checked him out too? Arthur grew embarrassed and started looking down at his shoes. He wished that he had worn trainers, his feet were killing him. His black loafers looked very sophisticated and were perfect for school, but they just weren't as comfortable as some of his other shoes _'Well I suppose one has to suffer for his style_' he thought,a smug grin spreading onto his face. Arthur got up and walked over to the nearest bin to throw away the empty bag of cotton candy before returning to his seat. He looked up _'It's getting late' _he thought, then looked at his watch before sighing.

Time seemed to go by so slowly when Arthur was on his own. Feeling bored, he turned his attention to Alfred and Matthew's jackets that he had placed beside him on the bench. Arthur lifted up Alfred's brown bomber jacket and rubbed the material between his fingers, it was Alfred's favourite jacket and so the material felt quite worn. Arthur traced his fingers over the '50' on the back and then looked left and right before taking in a big whiff of its sent.

_Alfred_

The sent brought back memories of old times, Alfred and Arthur had spent a lot of time together when they were younger but started growing apart as they grew older. Arthur frowned. He hated thinking that even now him and Alfred were growing apart. He wanted to make more of an effort to spend time with him, but how could he ask him to hang out _casually_? He couldn't just be upfront as he'd get a reply such as _'are you hitting on me?'_ followed by his irritating laugh. But he couldn't be subtle either, Alfred couldn't take a hint to save his life. Arthur hadn't noticed, but he was now clutching the jacket tightly. He felt something hard in its left pocket, reaching in he pulled out Alfred's cellphone.

_'Should I...' _he glared at the phone. Alfred didn't have a password on his phone as he was worried that he'd forget it, so the phone was practically_ begging _for him to snoop about through it. Before he knew it, he was scrolling through Alfred's messages. Nothing instantly caught his eye, he was slightly disappointed that he hadn't found anything juicy but at the same time he was relieved. He then noticed a message from Francis from a week ago.

_**Are you going to be at my place today? Don't worry, that loner Arthur isn't going to be there – wouldn't let him go anywhere near my house ohonhonhonhon~**_

_**F~ :***_

To which Alfred's reply was

_**Yo waddup? Nah i've got junk to do. Hey cut him some slack, he can't help being the way that he is :P Laterz :D**_

A smile spread across Arthur's face, Alfred had actually defended him. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to feel about being _'the way that he is' _but he was pleased that Alfred had called Francis out nonetheless.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur could see the American and Canadian returning. Matthew was holding on to Alfred's arm, his legs quivering. It took Arthur a few seconds to realise that he still had Alfred's phone in his hand which caused him to jump and almost drop it on the floor. He noticed that Alfred had stopped walking, Arthur looked over his shoulder to find out why. Alfred gave Matthew a bear hug and then whispered something into his ear. The Canadian's face flushed bright red and Alfred smirked in response whilst pinching Matthew's cheek – Arthur's heart sank.

They were fast approaching and so Arthur quickly shoved Alfred's phone into the jacket pocket.

"Wow that was fun!" Alfred noticed Arthur who was still holding on to his jacket. "Oh thanks dude" he stretched his arms out, expecting Arthur to put his jacket on for him. Instead, Arthur shoved it into his chest and returned to his seat on the bench. Alfred was confused, his eyes then grew wide. _'Oh damn, he must be annoyed that he's been sat here for ages while me and Matt have been having fun' _he scratched the back of his neck.

"Y'know Artie," Arthur folded his arms but then met Alfred's gaze. "You should come on this next ride with us".

"Next...ride?" Matthew whimpered. He looked worried, his legs still shaking.

"Hell yeah! We still have to go on the decapitator" Alfred winked at Matthew, not noticing the fear in his eyes.

"Oh no...I'm sorry Alfred but I don't think I can manage any more rides.." Matthew put a hand to his mouth in the fear that he would be sick. Looking at Matthew was even starting to make Arthur feel nauseous, the smell of deep fried burgers and hot dogs seeping into his nostrils didn't help.

"Aw whaat?" Alfred pouted but then ruffled Matthew's hair to show that it was alright. "Well okay, so Arthur you coming?" Arthur looked up to find an expectant look on Alfred's face.

"No thanks. I'd like my limbs to still be attached to my body by the end of the day" Arthur replied, averting his gaze from Alfred's.

"Well it'd be no fun on my own.." Alfred slumped into the seat besides Arthur, letting out a sigh.

"I'll be back..please wait here for me" Matthew then rushed off to the toilet.

Arthur could feel tension between himself and Alfred, he avoided eye contact with him and hadn't said another word since Matthew had left. Alfred sensed the awkwardness and so – for once – he didn't speak and instead brought his gaze to the sky. It was summertime so it wasn't dark yet, however some orange and pink splodges seemed to be creeping in from the East. Alfred was aware that Arthur didn't like roller-coaster rides, but there must be something that he could go on. His eyes then locked on to the Ferris wheel, it was a classic fairground ride.

"Hey Artie, I know a ride we can go on" Alfred uttered thoughtfully.

"I thought I told you I don't want to go on any-" Alfred put his arm around Arthur, grabbing his shoulder. He pointed towards the Ferris wheel with his other hand. Arthur looked at the structure, he couldn't remember the last time he had gone on one of these. But he couldn't help but think _'how cliché'_ as the Ferris Wheel tended to be the prime spot in every romcom ever made.

"Fine." he glanced at Alfred who smiled back at him. Sure, he would've loved to have gone on the decapitator, but the Ferris Wheel would do. Alfred also didn't want Arthur to feel any more left out than he already did, the Brit had the tendency to push others away without truly intending to do so.

Matthew returned, "Hey dude we're going on the Ferris Wheel, you gonna come too?" Alfred asked watching Matthew shrink into his clothing.

"I think I'll just wait for you." He held out his hands "But you guys better give me your valuables" Alfred and Arthur looked at one another, confused. "Just in case you..forget about me again" Matthew laughed nervously as he watched Alfred and Arthur's cheeks flush an embarrassed pink as they removed their phones and wallets from their pockets and placed them into Matthew's hands.

Luckily, the queue for the Ferris Wheel wasn't that long. It seems they had gotten there just in time as well since it was announced that this would be the last ride of the day before the park closed.

"After you" Alfred ushered Arthur into the carriage, grinning at his own gentlemanliness. Alfred getting into the carriage caused it to rock vigorously and Arthur wondered if this had been such a great idea after all. Alfred noticed Arthur's anxious expression so he put his hand onto Arthur's knee. "Don't worry, if we fall I'll catch you".

"If we fall we'll die!" Arthur exclaimed. Alfred's words were not at all soothing but the hand on his knee did help him relax slightly.

The two classmates sat in silence until they reached near the top of the Ferris Wheel. "Woah hey Artie, look!" Alfred pointed towards the sky. The blue in the sky had faded out into a dark violet and a combination of pinks and oranges lingered in the wide open space.

_'Beautiful' _

Arthur rested his elbow on the arm of his seat and cupped his cheek with his right hand, gazing out at the glorious sight.

"Bet you're glad we came on this thing now" Alfred uttered smugly.

"Mmhmm"

"It's a shame Matthew isn't here to enjoy this view" Arthur was immediately reminded of what he had seen earlier.

"You've been dragging him around all day. Just leave him be for once" He turned to Alfred, his voice bitter.

"I guess. Well it looked like he was having a blast, you should've seen his face on the pirate ship ride – classic" Alfred snorted, slapping his thigh.

"Well I hope you guys enjoyed yourselves" Arthur gestured his palm towards the blonde, his sarcasm was so blatant that even Alfred noticed it. Furrowing his brow, Alfred snatched Arthur's hand.

"Why you gotta be like that?" he groaned "I asked you if you wanted to come on the rides with us but you said no, what else was I supposed to do?".

"What are you talking about? Okay maybe I felt a little lonely by myself but I didn't mind you and Matthew going off by yourselves" at least it was partly the truth.

"Well then why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad!"

"Well...good then. I guess" Alfred scratched the back off his neck, had he been reading Arthur wrong this whole time? He thought he knew him better than that.

Arthur looked down as Alfred half-smiled. He ducked his head low in an attempt to see Arthur's face "Are we good now?" he asked playfully. Arthur lifted his head and nodded. They had almost reached the bottom of the Ferris Wheel, Alfred removed his hand from Arthur's "Sorry, I get sweaty palms" he stated, rubbing his hand down his jacket. Arthur saw Alfred's cheeks glow pink from embarrassment which made him chuckle.

"Okay, so we're good to go now then?" Alfred started walking towards the exit until Arthur stopped him.

"Wait..something feels missing..Oh we need to go back for Matt!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Yeah and for our stuff" Arthur gave Alfred a playful elbow in the stomach and they both rushed off to meet up with Matthew.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been three days since Alfred had dragged Arthur and Matthew to McDonalds and the amusement park. Besides classes, Arthur hadn't seen much of Alfred or Matthew. The American always seemed to be off in a hurry as well, which was strange since usually Arthur and Alfred would chat after class. He expected at least an insult or even a grin aimed at him but so far, nothing.

When Friday came around, Arthur spotted Alfred by his locker and so quickly rushed over to him.

"Hi Alfred. It feels like we haven't spoken in a few days, isn't that funny?" he thought that a forced laugh would make the conversation more casual, but it came across as, well, forced. Luckily Alfred didn't seem to notice, after all he was the one that was acting more strange than usual.

"Mmhmm yeah.." His voice trailed off, he seemed very uninterested.

"So..you seen much of Matthew lately?" Arthur watched Alfred's reaction closely, he saw him flinch. Jackpot.

"Uhh..nope. Don't think so" Alfred replied into his locker, he was much better than Arthur at acting casual – or so he liked to think.

"Right..so am I going to be helping you study for the test this weekend?" Arthur asked, feeling more concerned about other matters at the moment however.

"Actually I think I'm gonna do some studying by myself" He slammed his locker shut and faced Arthur with a grin of his face. However, his grin began to fade as he saw in Arthur's expression that he wasn't buying the lie. Still, no point in turning back now, he supposed. "Anyways, I've gotta run – got so much studying to do..see ya!" and before Arthur could say anything else, he was gone.

* * *

Arthur woke up on Saturday morning, he jumped out of bed and walked into his bathroom. Gazing at his reflection in the mirror he wondered what had gotten into Alfred lately, he splashed his face with water and headed back into his bedroom. He picked up his phone from his desk, still no reply from Alfred. Arthur decided that the only way he could find out what was wrong with his friend was if he went to his house and asked him. Arthur thought of Alfred as one of his closest friends, so if something was wrong he would want to be there for him. Arthur decided to ignore for the moment that there was a chance that Matthew was involved with his strange behaviour. The shaggy haired Brit took off his union jack pyjamas and dressed himself in blue jeans and his short-sleeved plaid blouse. He looked in the mirror and fixed his hair ever so slightly, not feeling the need to brush it. With his phone and wallet placed into his jean pocket, Arthur went downstairs and slipped on his red Dr Martens before heading out the door. He gazed up, placing a hand over his eye to provide shade from the sun _'it looks to be a nice day, I think I'll walk over'_.

As Arthur approached Alfred's house, he could hear Alfred's favourite video game booming out. _'Studying eh..' _but of course this is what Arthur had expected. He knocked on the door twice, but there was no answer '_Alfred if you're ignoring me I swear to god..' _he knocked another two times just to be safe.

"The doors open" he heard Alfred shout from the other side of the door. It felt oddly strange to just walk into somebody else's house he thought, but the door wasn't going to open itself so despite the unfamiliarity, he opened the door and walked inside.

The smell of Alfred woofed right into his nostrils, but something felt a little different about it. It was like a combination between two different scents, one American and one..

_Canadian _

Arthur brought his gaze to the coach. There he saw Alfred sat playing his video game and Matthew sat in between his legs. He didn't know what to think at first, let alone _say_and so he just stood, staring.

"Oh Arthur" Matthew's cheeks grew red as he tried to shuffle out of Alfred's grasp.

Alfred looked up at Arthur "Oh hey bro come on in. I just invited Matt to study with me – figured you could use a break from me" Alfred laughed in response to his own statement.

Obeying, Arthur walked towards the couch. "Studying indeed.." Arthur spoke, flashing his eyes to the TV and then back to Alfred, he raised his eyebrow.

"We're just taking a study break" Alfred stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

Arthur shrugged "I see..well I best not keep you then" he turned around and headed for the door, what ever made him think this was a good idea?

"Wait Arthur." Arthur obeyed the quiet voice, turning back around. "I think..it'd be fun if you'd stay with us" Matthew glanced at Alfred who nodded towards Arthur.

"Well..I suppose I could stay for a little while" Arthur could easily say no to Alfred, but Matthew? Not so much. The lad looked like he really wanted Arthur to stay as well, he wasn't surprised, it was difficult to put up with Alfred especially for someone like Matthew who could be easily be manipulated by him.

"Sweet, I'll go get the snacks!" Alfred hopped out of his seat, being careful not to hurt Matthew however.

Arthur sat next to his Canadian friend. Matthew was such a nice guy, but Arthur quickly found that they didn't have much to talk about between them. Either that or he was used to Alfred constantly starting conversations. Arthur felt obliged to get to know Matthew better and quickly disregarded all thoughts that had crept into his mind as he had entered the room.

"So..do you come here often?" Arthur internally face-palmed _'You're trying to get to know him better not chat him up you twit!'_, he played it off cool however. But by the look on Matthew's face, it was a perfectly logical question.

"Sometimes..I mean I rarely came here in the past but I've been here quite a few times in the past few days" _'the past few days eh' _the days in which Alfred had been acting strangely, perhaps?

"Ah I see..so do you just..hang out together? Playing video games and that sort of thing?" Arthur could feel that he was prying a little too much, but he couldn't stop himself now.

"Well I usually just watch him play " Matthew misread Arthur's thoughtful expression and so quickly added "video games, that is". Arthur seemed to be getting no where with these questions.

_'Just ask him what Alfred whispered to him at the amusement park' _but he had probably already forgotten by now, and it was most likely nothing important.

"Are you alright, Arthur?" Matthew asked, Arthur saw the worried look on his face and decided it wasn't fair to keep asking him questions like this.

"Yes. Yes, sorry. I was just daydreaming, like usual" Arthur shook his head, smiling.

Matthew smiled "I like daydreaming too. It lets you get away from the problems in life." Arthur couldn't help but pat Matthew on the head again.

"Well said. I guess this is something that Alfred just wouldn't understand" Matthew giggled in response, Arthur enjoyed the way Matthew seemed to hang on his every word. It made him feel wanted.

Alfred entered the living room, his hands full of bags of crisps and sweets. Matthew's phone buzzed and so he went into the kitchen to answer the call.

Arthur thought that Alfred was acting his normal self again since he had gotten to his house, but he guessed he was wrong as once Matthew was out the room Alfred didn't utter one word to Arthur. Arthur was sick of him acting this way, he didn't like change especially when it was to do with people he cared about. _In an entirely platonic way of course._

"Alfred? Are you feeling okay? You've been acting strange recently."

"Oh, have I?" Alfred jumped on the sofa, opening a bag of sweets.

"Do you mind telling me what's gotten in to you?" Alfred looked up at Arthur's face, he did look genuinely concerned. He didn't understand, had he been acting weird?

"Dude really, I'm fine-" Alfred stopped as Matthew entered the room "Sup Mattie?".

"Sorry guys..I have to go home now" Matthew saw the disappointed look on Alfred's face and gave him an apologetic smile.

Alfred walked Matthew over to the door and waited as he put his shoes on. He then reached over for a hug, this hug looked close and intimate as Alfred squeezed Matthew against his own body. Matthew was the first to break away, insisting that he had to hurry home. Alfred waved goodbye to him and then plopped back onto the sofa besides Arthur, letting out a long sigh as he did so.

"What was all of that about" Arthur asked, raising one eyebrow.

"What do ya mean?" Alfred playfully punched Arthur in the arm. But then laughed as he knew what Arthur was one about. "Jeez I dunno..Matthew is so freaking cute, I guess I can't help myself".

"Oh Al, are you forming a crush on Matthew?" Arthur teased, chuckling even though Alfred's words had hurt him.

Alfred smiled at Arthur's playfulness. He was convinced that he'd be all funny about this sort of thing. He playfully pushed the Brit over. "Shhh I only said he was cute, jesus I'm not signing a marriage registration form or anything".

"I guess not." Arthur raised his wrist so he could look at his watch, but never actually bothered to check the time "oh look at the time, I better go" he hastily stood up and began walking towards the front door.

"Aw, you too?" Alfred pouted, half a gummy worm hanging out of his mouth. "Alright, catch you later then".

Arthur waved before making a hasty exit. The sun had gone in and he felt the pitter patter of rain on his head. _'I should've brought my car'_ he thought, as he started walking back home in the rain without a brolly.

* * *

It was 10PM and Alfred had become bored of watching TV and playing video games. He found a lukewarm beer on the counter in his kitchen, but this just wouldn't cut it for him so he raided his fridge for a cool one. Alfred was unable to find another one and he was too lazy to go all the way to the supermarket to get a pack. So instead he figured he'd go to the pub down the road and get a fresh one. He grabbed his brown bomber jacket and made sure that his laces were tied before heading out the door.

Upon arriving at the pub Alfred was taken back by how busy it was _'well it is a Saturday'. _It was a bit too busy for his liking so he figured, since he was already here, he'd get a drink or two and then head home. He walked up to the bar, he glanced to his right and saw a man with his head on the table and a drink in his hand _'hah, some dudes..' _but he had to double-take when he could've sworn he recognised that green jacket.

"Arthur?" The man raised his head slightly from the bar.

"Oh...It's just you _*hic* _what do you want ehh" He was slurring his words, and Alfred knew he was pissed _'he's pissed out of his mind, the poor guy'._

"Awh dude..you're gonna feel like shit in the morning" Alfred sat next to Arthur, he gently pat his back.

"Don't you...patronise me..._*hic* _and don't tell me how to feel you _*hic*_asshole.." Arthur pushed Alfred away but Alfred grabbed his wrist "Oi, get your hand off of me!" Arthur exclaimed, drawing attention to himself.

"C'mon man, we better get you to bed" Alfred guided Arthur out of the bar stool and towards the door.

"But I don't wanna! *_hic*_it's not even my bedtime yet!" Arthur stomped his feet like a child.

"Dude, why can't you be this funny all the time" Alfred snorted, he put his arm around Arthur and guided him out of the pub.

* * *

"Don't worry about taking your shoes off, kay?" Alfred hung Arthur's jacket up on a hanger. "I've got some blankets and stuff so you can sleep on the sofa tonight". Alfred turned to see Arthur attempting to remove more of his clothes. "Hey hey! Don't change right here, you should go into the bathroom or my room if you wanna change".

"Fine bossy" Arthur raised his eyebrow and shook his head before running upstairs chuckling to himself. Alfred ran after him, once he got upstairs Arthur slammed the door to his room.

"Oh, you getting changed in there?" He asked, holding his ear to the door.

"Yeah yeaah" Arthur replied.

"Okay, there should be some Pjs in the closet to the right of my bed" Alfred popped downstairs to remove his shoes and jacket and set up pillows and blankets on the sofa. He then returned upstairs and knocked on his bedroom door "Are you done? Can I come in now?".

"Yesss~"

Alfred opened the door to find Arthur standing in front of him – _completely naked_. He abruptly closed the door again.

"Dude! I thought you said you were done changing!" Arthur laughed hysterically in response. "C'mon at least put some underwear on or something"

"Ohh Al, when did you become so boring? _*hic*_ Finee I've got underwear on now alright?" Alfred re-opened the door to find Arthur wearing underwear this time – his underwear.

"I really meant your own underwear..but I guess this'll have to do for now" Alfred walked in and looked through his closet, he pulled out some striped blue and white pyjamas. "Here you can wear these, I don't wear these often". Instead of taking the pyjamas from Alfred, Arthur decided to jump into Alfred's bed and hide under the covers. Alfred sighed, Arthur sure was funny when he was drunk, but it was also hard work to look after him.

"I've set your bed up downstairs, if you wanna sleep then you should go down there" Arthur poked his head above the covers, his emerald eyes wide and gleaning. "Or..I guess you could sleep here and I'll sleep downstairs-" Alfred stopped as Arthur grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him close.

"Look, you've got me right where you want me you _dirty bastard!" _Arthur then let go of Alfred and continued to laugh hysterically. Alfred took a step back, somewhat confused as to what had just happened.

"Umm.." Alfred could feel his cheeks flushing, he turned away from Arthur so that he wouldn't notice "I'm gonna go downstairs now then, you make yourself comfortable and get a good nights sleep, alright?" Alfred left the room and gently closed the door behind him _'phew'._

The American got himself comfortable on the sofa, he lay there whilst flicking through channels on the TV. After about ten minutes Arthur crept back downstairs. Alfred glanced towards the stairs to find Arthur crawling across the floor.

Alfred snorted "Dude, what are you doing?".

"Shh I'm a spy" he whispered, failing to do a forward roll on the carpet. Alfred chuckled.

"C'mon, you're gonna get carpet burn if you keep doing that. Go back to bed" Arthur continued to crawl over to the sofa and climbed on top of Alfred, straddling him.

"Got ya" he sniggered whilst pinning Alfred's arms down. Alfred looked up at Arthur, he had lust in his eyes and a smirk on his mouth. _'What the...' _Alfred knew he liked Arthur but he didn't know whether he _liked_ him.

Alfred glanced at the TV "Oh god..dude you've gotta let me change the channel, The Real Housewives of New Jersey is about to come on!" Alfred squirmed but Arthur only tightened his grip on Alfred's wrists.

Bringing his gaze to meet Arthur's, Alfred gulped "Dude..don't do anything you're gonna regret" Arthur ignored Alfred and leaned in closer to his face. "Really, think about what you're doing" Alfred face grew redder "Hold responsibility for your actions-" Alfred was cut off as Arthur placed a rough kiss onto his lips.

Alfred had no time to think as the Brit took full control of the kiss. Arthur's lips felt soft upon his own, despite the rough nature of the kiss. It was sloppy and Arthur's breath reeked of alcohol but it was passionate nonetheless as Arthur's lips moulded with his own. Arthur surprised Alfred with a bite to his bottom lip, he had no idea that the polite,British man was capable of such a kiss. Arthur detached himself suddenly, a smirk still on his lips, he removed Alfred's glasses from his face and threw them across the room.

"Hey.." Alfred said with a breathy whine but was silenced by Arthur pulling him close for another kiss. Alfred couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his smothered lips and in the heat of the moment he wrapped his arms around Arthur tightly, their lips caressed and Arthur's tongue sought the opportunity and plunged into Alfred's mouth. Their tongues intertwined as Alfred brushed his hands through Arthur's golden locks. Alfred stroked Arthur's tongue with his own, his saliva tasted bitter but he didn't care and lunged his tongue forwards to lap up more. Arthur's crotch rubbing hard against his own made him groan, this wasn't right, Arthur had no idea what he was doing to him. As Arthur broke away from the kiss for breath, Alfred sat up.

The two stared at each other in silence. Still not uttering a word, Alfred wrapped his arms around his shirtless classmate for a warm hug.

"C'mon. Let's get you to bed".

Alfred led Arthur upstairs and tucked him into his bed. He smiled gently and began to walk away before he was stopped by Arthur grabbing his hand.

"Stay..please" Arthur whimpered as he held a hand to his forehead. Alfred responded with a sympathetic smile and climbed into the bed with him.

He sighed "Now look who's the baby" he whispered. Alfred kissed Arthur lightly on the forehead and turned away from him in the fear that the slight glow in his cheeks would spread over his entire face. Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred's waist and snuggled into him before falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Arthur awoke to a thumping headache, he groaned _'Just what happened last night?' _He remembered heading over to Alfred's house the day before and making a quick exit as he saw Alfred, giddy over thoughts of Matthew. Arthur was sick of Alfred. He let him push him around a fair bit up to this point but he wouldn't stand for it any longer. He decided right then and there that he'd march all the way to Alfred's house and demand that he treat him with more respect. Arthur's rage only made his head ache more, he would have to take some medication before leaving for Alfred's house. But what happened after he went to Alfred's house yesterday? He wondered, gazing up at the ceiling. He remembered walking home, stropping about for a bit and then he...

Went to the pub. Of course. Arthur rubbed his temples, it was all coming back to him. He had gone to the pub to drink his problems away and of course, as he was well aware, he had a low tolerance to alcohol. He panicked and looked down at his body _'no pyjamas then..'_ he couldn't understand how he was still in one piece, when he got drunk it was a nightmare. He certainly wouldn't have been able to get home by himself. He gazed around the room realising that, in fact, he wasn't at home. _'This...this is Alfred's room!'._

Arthur jumped out of what must've been Alfred bed. He tried to comprehend what must've happened the night before. But Alfred plus himself drunk equalled trouble for sure, and the fact that he was almost completely naked didn't relax him at all. Arthur grabbed his shirt and jeans which he saw hung up in Alfred's closet and put them on hastily, he opened the door and the smell of bacon and eggs smacked him in the face. At least Alfred was still home, he could ask him himself what had gone on last night.

Arthur slowly made his way downstairs, the more he moved the more painful his hangover seemed to get. The sound of sizzling bacon and eggs became louder, Arthur's stomach grumbled but the smell of the fried food only made him feel nauseous. He stumbled into the kitchen where he saw Alfred. He was already dressed in jogging bottoms and a green T-Shirt, he also wore a 'kiss the cook' apron. His baby blue eyes were focused on the food in the frying pan until they moved to catch Arthur's gaze.

"Oh hey, you're up" Alfred smiled, his smile turned sympathetic as he saw Arthur rubbing his eyes. "I have some pain killers in the cupboard over there" Alfred gestured towards the cupboard, Arthur didn't have the strength to say 'thank you' so he just nodded in response. Arthur took the painkillers,along with a glass of water, to the downstairs bathroom. He swallowed the pills and then glanced at himself in the mirror. He could tell why Alfred was being so nice to him, he looked _awful_. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was more messy than usual, his skin looked pale and his breath stank of liquor. He badly wanted to brush his teeth but he wasn't going anywhere near Alfred's toothbrush – not after the kind of things he ate. He looked around in the cabinet for something else to use, he found some mouthwash and gave his mouth a rinsing before returning to the kitchen.

"Bacon and eggs good for you?" Alfred asked upon seeing Arthur return.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll skip breakfast for now" Arthur perched himself on one of the chairs in the kitchen and leant his head on the table.

"Breakfast? Dude this is lunch, it's 1PM" Alfred chuckled "You slept right through the morning bro, I didn't want to wake you" Alfred flicked his bacon and eggs over one last time in the pan before placing them onto a plate, he grabbed some ketchup and mustard from the counter and placed them on the kitchen table before sitting down opposite Arthur.

Arthur raised his head "oh god.." he rested his elbow on the table and cupped his cheek "I can't remember the last time I slept in this late." Arthur glanced over to Alfred who had already tucked into his lunch "What sort of a lunch is that? And shouldn't you at least have some beans or something along with that?" Arthur shook his head in disapproval.

"Hey I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want. There's no rule when it comes to food" Alfred spoke with food in his mouth which caused Arthur to turn away from him, he tapped his fingers on the table.

"I have a few questions about last night."

Alfred stopped eating for a moment. Arthur could've sworn that he saw the faintest pink tinge in his cheeks. "Kay then" He uttered as he continued scoffing down his lunch.

"I am aware that I went drinking at the pub last night..care to fill me in on the events after that?" Arthur didn't remove his eyes from the American and watched his every move. _'At least the painkillers have started setting in'._

Alfred continued to look down at his food, purposely avoiding Arthur's gaze. "Alright. Well I found you at the pub and escorted you home to my place. And here we are" Arthur raised his eyebrow at Alfred, expecting more of an explanation. Alfred glanced at the scruffy Brit, seeing his expression "What more do you want me to say?".

"That doesn't explain why I woke up in your bed"

Alfred took this as an opportunity to get out of his seat and grab a can of Coca Cola from the fridge. "Well I set you up on the sofa, but you seemed really insistent on sleeping in my bed soo..I let you" Arthur flushed bright pink at Alfred's words.

"Oh god..really? In your bed..with you?"

"Oh, 'course not. I slept on the sofa" Alfred lied as Arthur let out a sigh of relief. Alfred smirked at the way Arthur was unaware of his actions last night and how easily embarrassed he could get. "You straddled me though" Alfred sat down, taking a sip of his coke.

"I...what?" A worried expression spread onto Arthur's face, he could feel his headache returning. Alfred glanced over at Arthur and smirked. "Is this...a joke?". Alfred shook his head and Arthur averted his gaze to the floor. "Well..I'm uhh...sorry about that then.." he didn't know how to respond to such information. He had straddled Alfred? What else did this _imply_ that he had done? The various possibilities attacking his thoughts made him feel sick. Or maybe it was the hangover.

"S'alright." Arthur held his hand over his eyes, he was so unbelievably embarrassed. "I enjoyed it" Arthur froze on the spot, a million thoughts racing through his mind.

The silence broke as Alfred burst out laughing. Arthur glared at Alfred but he only laughed harder "Oh man, you should've seen the look on your face just then" Alfred playfully kicked his leg from under the table. Arthur couldn't believe Alfred, how dare he say something like that. Was that his idea of a joke? Arthur could feel himself fill with anger and he stood up from his chair. He opened his mouth and breathed in air, ready to speak his mind. But something wasn't quite right. Alfred watched as Arthur's eyes grew wide and he furrowed his brow.

"Uh-oh" he whimpered before running to the bathroom. Alfred scrunched up his nose as he could hear Arthur throwing up from the other room and scratched the back of his neck._ 'Maybe I should go a bit easier on the jokes for now...'._

* * *

Arthur pulled a blanket around himself and snuggled into Alfred's sofa. His jeans were far too uncomfortable for him to feel completely relaxed, but he didn't have any other clothes with him and he refused to take them off in Alfred's company. The American brought over a cup of tea to his classmate.

"Thank you" Arthur mumbled, grasping the cup with both thanks. Alfred sat next to him and flicked through the TV channels. The tea was average at best, it was much sweeter than he liked it but he wasn't going to complain – after all, it was nice seeing Alfred concerned for him. Arthur glanced at the blonde American, he couldn't seem to get off of his mind what he had said earlier._ 'I wonder what he's thinking right now..He's probably just thinking how to ask me to leave politely. I suppose I have outstayed my welcome' _with this thought in mind, Arthur uttered "I suppose I should get going" he set his cup of tea down and stretched his arms towards the ceiling.

"Well I enjoy your company, but if you're feeling well enough to go home then that's fine. I can drive you back if you want" Arthur couldn't tell whether that was Alfred's way of asking him to stay or not, his face stayed straight as he was focused on finding a good TV channel. But Alfred had said that he actually _enjoyed_ his company, he could hardly leave now.

"Well..I guess I could stay a little while longer" Alfred averted his eyes from the TV to give Arthur a thumbs up. He then switched on Netflix and ushered Arthur to pick a film. "Oh it's fine, I really don't mind what we watch" Arthur lied, he wouldn't mind watching most things but he couldn't stand those action-packed gangster movies that Alfred liked. He wanted to be polite in return for Alfred being so kind and escorting him home the night before, so he figured he'd put up with whatever Alfred chose.

"Hmm..alrighty then" Arthur watched as Alfred closed his eyes and tilted down the control stick on his Xbox controller.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Duhh, I'm choosing a movie" Arthur looked puzzled "I'll let go of the control stick in a sec and then whatever movie it lands on, we'll watch." Arthur smiled at Alfred who ,even with his eyes closed, looked very determined. He was amazed at the way Alfred thought of things and loved that he was so creative, he made everyday things fun. After another minute, Alfred let go of the control stick.

"Oh. Haven't seen this one before" Alfred stated whilst gazing up at the TV. Friends with _benefits_? Alfred couldn't have chosen a worse film to watch. Alfred's idea to randomly choose a film,that had seemed genius just moments ago, had now backfired. Arthur glanced over at his friend, even Alfred seemed hesitant at first, but he selected the film nonetheless and they both began to watch it.

Arthur was familiar with the term 'friends with benefits' but he never thought that it was actually a _real_ thing that _real_ people did. He could imagine Francis boasting about how many times he had been in the 'friends with benefits' type relationship with someone, but Arthur never believed for a second that the French frog eater was telling the truth when it came to his sex life. Especially since, quite frankly, no one liked him.

The film started off okay, Arthur hated to admit it but he did think some of the scenes were well put together and clever. Alfred laughed at every joke in sight but Arthur couldn't stand how the humour was so unbelievably American. Arthur was confident that he'd be able to put up with the film for 109 minutes, but that was until the sex scenes started. The classmates both froze in place when the protagonists started kissing, it reminded Alfred of when he'd be watching a film with his parents and a make out session would go under way between two characters. He felt embarrassed. It also reminded him of the night before, the way Arthur had that sexy smirk and a hungry look in his eyes, the way Arthur's cock rubbed hard against his own.._'Oh god no..' _Alfred hastily grabbed a pillow and clutched it to his lap as he felt blood rushing fast to his crotch. He hoped that Arthur hadn't noticed, but Arthur was no idiot. However he was no genius either, Arthur assumed that Alfred had gotten a boner from the sex scene happening on the screen. He sighed, when had Alfred become such an overly horny person? Alfred didn't care what Arthur thought had caused it, as long as he didn't find out that it involved him.

Even though the film was trying to break all the stereotypes of a typical romcom, the ending was so cliché and Arthur saw it coming from a mile away. As the credits rolled on the screen, Arthur let out a sigh _'At least the awkwardness is over' _he picked up his full cup of tea, which had now gone cold, and got up to take it to the kitchen.

"Don't worry, I got it" As Alfred went to take the cup out of Arthur's grasp, he unintentionally touched his hand. He lingered there for what seemed like an eternity before taking the cup "Now that was a romcom moment" Alfred chuckled as he made his way to the kitchen. Arthur could still feel Alfred's warmth on his hand, he smiled faintly. "You didn't like the tea then I'm guessing" Alfred poured the cold liquid down the sink, smirking as he did so.

"Well it was a little too sweet, but it was mainly untouched because I forgot about it" Arthur forget about his tea? Not likely. Alfred knew that Arthur was just trying to be polite so he pretended to play along.

"Oh right" he nodded whilst walking back into the living room "so, did you like the film?" Alfred asked, turning off his Xbox.

"Well I'm not a big fan of American romcoms.." Arthur's voice trailed off.

"Dude, you should've said. We didn't have to watch that film" Arthur's face dropped, so he could have avoided all that embarrassment? He always knew that that was an option however, but he felt obliged to watch it after he had said he didn't mind.

"Well it wasn't awful or anything. Some bits were okay." Arthur scratched his head. Alfred smirked as he flicked through the TV channels once again. Once finding that there was still nothing interesting on, he turned off the TV and sat facing Arthur. "So..did you like the film?" Arthur asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer after all of the laughter that came out of Alfred mouth.

"Well I found it pretty hilarious. I mean, that Justin Timberlake dude seemed so awkward at times but the girl from Family Guy was so freaking funny" Alfred chuckled to himself and Arthur gave him a half smile to show that he was listening. "But..I dunno. I never understood the whole 'friends with benefits' thing"

Arthur was intrigued "..How so?"

"Well I mean, you're bound to grow feelings for them at some point. And firstly, you would have to find them attractive to want to do that sort of thing with them right? And then once you feel their body against your own and you feel your lips against theirs...you'll be hooked. It's only natural.." Arthur stared at Alfred, he was sounding very thoughtful. Alfred noticed that he had zoned out into his thoughts and so, as he always did in awkward situations, he broke the silence with laughter. "So yeah, it just sounds pretty pointless to me."

Arthur could tell that Alfred had something else on his mind, or maybe it was _someone._

"I best be going now then" Arthur stood up and headed towards the door.

"Alright. I can drive you if you want" Alfred followed after the Brit, resting his hands behind his head.

Arthur sat on the stairs whilst putting on his Dr Martens "No thanks. It's not dark yet, I'm fine walking."

"Well..if you're sure" Alfred grabbed Arthur's jacket off of the hanger and held it out so he could put his arms through it. Instead, Arthur just took the jacket off of him and placed it on himself.

"Yeah." He opened the door, glancing behind him. "Thanks. For getting me home safely last night." He smiled.

Alfred grinned "No prob. It was nothing." Arthur turned around to leave "Oh, I forgot to say, when you're done with those underpants you can just wash them and return them to me"

"Pardon?" Arthur pulled the elastic up from the underwear he was wearing. These were certainly not his underpants, but this could only mean that.. "Oh lord."

"Yeah I tried to get you to put on your underwear, but you seemed to have different ideas" The American couldn't contain his laughter. Arthur wished that this were just another one of Alfred's jokes but the proof was right there, wrapped around his bottom.

"Okay well I'm leaving now. Thanks again, bye." Arthur said hastily whilst shutting the door behind him. He needn't feel embarrassed now that he was alone. He could now try to piece together the things that Alfred had said about the night before, because he was sure that there was something that Alfred wasn't telling him. Maybe it would be better for him not to know though, he thought.

On the other side of the door, Alfred glanced around his living room. _'What do I do now..' _He strolled into his bedroom and flopped onto his bed, being around Arthur felt exhausting. But why was that? He led on his back, looking up at the ceiling. He figured it was because of what had happened last night. He had no intention of telling Arthur about it, he thought that he'd just forget about it and continue with his everyday life. But even now he could feel that something wasn't quite right, just yesterday he was sure that he liked Matthew. But it was only natural that he'd feel something towards Arthur after that passionate kiss right? He brushed off his thoughts, there was no way that he liked Arthur that way, it was too sudden. And if he had liked Arthur all this time then he was sure he would've noticed sooner. He got off of his bed and shook his head _'Yeah. It was just a kiss, it didn't mean anything.' _He picked up his bed sheets as he figured they could do with a wash, he smelt them just to check and the smell of alcohol lingered on them. He also smelt another smell, a familiar smell. Alfred felt butterflies in his tummy.

_'Oh crap'_


	7. Chapter 7

"I need to talk to you." Alfred seemed determined, but Arthur wasn't going to give him the time of day.

He closed his locker "Well you'll have to wait. Classes are starting soon." he slung his bag around his shoulder and began walking to his classroom. Alfred followed after him, he grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"No, you don't understand. It's important." Arthur glanced at Alfred and rolled his eyes, he pulled his wrist away from Alfred's grasp.

"If it was that important you would've told me yesterday when I was at your house." He crossed his arms, he was sure he could taste the bitterness that was seeping into his voice.

"But at the time I didn't have anything to say, but we need to chat. Like, right now. I don't think I can make it through the school day, this is seriously messing me up.." Alfred's voice trailed off, he self-consciously didn't want Arthur to hear the last part. He averted his gaze to the floor. Arthur furrowed his brow, maybe what Alfred wanted to talk about was urgent. He was partly reluctant because he was worried about what it was, and Alfred acting in such a strange way didn't help that fact. He supposed that he'd let him talk briefly until the..._**BRIIIIING**_

"Oh look at that, time for class" Arthur made a hasty exit, leaving Alfred behind.

Arthur thought that he would be free from Alfred for the rest of the day, but Alfred seemed to follow him wherever he went. When it was break time Arthur went to the library with Kiku, they had been studying when Alfred entered the room. He sat down opposite Arthur.

"Hey.." He lent closer to Arthur "can we talk now?" he whispered a little too loudly and the librarian shot him a glare. Kiku raised his eyebrow at Arthur.

"No. Can't you see I'm busy?" he sighed, resting his textbook on the table so he wouldn't have to look at Alfred.

Alfred poked his head over the top of the book "Aw c'mon" he whined. Arthur slammed his book shut, almost trapping Alfred's chin in the process.

"No." Arthur tried his best to stay calm, especially in front of Kiku. Even though he considered Kiku one of his closest friends he was still afraid of scaring him off with his crudeness. Alfred stropped out of the room. "Seriously, he's such a baby" Arthur whispered, Kiku chuckled in response.

Arthur and Kiku later entered their science room. This was Arthur's least favourite lesson, of course that had nothing to do with the fact that he had to sit next to Francis because they had assigned seating. Arthur sat on his stool next to Francis who had already arrived, he avoided eye contact with him whilst he got his textbooks out of his bag.

"Bonjour, mon ami" he uttered with a wink.

"Shut up you French twat" Arthur responded bitterly, Francis laughed in response. The lesson began and Arthur ferociously began writing down notes, he knew this was one of the classes that he would need to study harder for. Francis kicked his leg from under the table. "Oi!" Arthur kicked him back harder.

"Is that all you've got?" Francis remarked, kicking him again. Arthur responded with another kick and a shove as well this time.

The teacher noticed a commotion at the front of the classroom. "Stop it you two, or you'll be sent to the principle's office".

Arthur crossed his arms and faced away from Francis. He wasn't about to get in trouble for something he hadn't started. A few minutes later however, Francis began to poke him. "Hey! Stop that." Arthur demanded. When Francis refused to stop, he figured he had no choice but to poke him too. Soon Arthur and Francis were in a poke war. Arthur stopped when he felt something hit the back of his head.

"Yes! I won! See I am the greatest, of course" Francis blew a kiss at Arthur who ignored him.

Arthur picked up the ball of scrunched up paper which he assumed was just hurled towards his head. He opened it and found a note written in very scrawly handwriting "Talk after class, okay?". Arthur looked behind him and saw Alfred giving a thumbs up in his direction. Arthur had almost forgotten that Alfred was in this class, he scrunched up the paper and threw it into the bin. He missed, but he was confident that he had made his point.

"What was that? A love letter?" Francis chuckled "It must have been meant for me, who would ever write you a love letter?" he flicked the hair out of his face with a smug look.

"Shut up, frog" Arthur mumbled, trying to get on with the rest of his work.

Around twenty minutes later, the teacher decided that the students would partake in an experiment. "Choose a partner and gather your equipment from the front." As soon as Alfred heard the word 'partner' he jumped out of his seat and headed towards Arthur. This would be the perfect opportunity to have a chat with him, Alfred was too impatient to wait and he needed to get his mind straight _now. _Arthur noticed Alfred heading towards him, his eyes locked on him. Arthur couldn't help but feel intimidated. He rushed out of his seat and approached Kiku, he pulled him out of his seat by his arm. Arthur then felt a firm hand on his shoulder, he turned around to find Alfred in front of him.

"..Partners?" Alfred muttered, feeling defeated.

"Yes. Me and Kiku are partners, looks like Francis is still available though." Arthur smirked gesturing towards Francis who was still sat alone.

"Damn. Why do I have to get stuck with francy pants" Alfred admitted defeat and sat next to Francis.

Arthur let out a sigh of relief. He let go of Kiku, only just realising he still had a tight grip on his arm. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to be so rough. It's just, Alfred has been stalking me all day and it's starting to creep me out." he and Kiku perched themselves on the stools in front of them.

"Maybe you should just let him talk to you. He clearly has a lot on his mind that he would like to be relieved of." Kiku glanced at Alfred as he spoke. Arthur joined his gaze and saw Alfred turn around to look at him, but then quickly turn back around when he saw that he was looking too.

"I suppose. I guess I'm just worried that whatever he tells me will be stuck on my mind too and then I'll be given this burden to carry around with me. And then who am I suppose to relieve myself to?" Arthur rested his elbow on the table and placed his hand over his forehead. Kiku gave him a friendly touch to the shoulder.

"Me or possibly one of your other friends." Arthur smiled, but upon realising that Alfred and Kiku were really his only friends, he furrowed his brow. "Or..just me." Kiku muttered as Arthur placed his head on the table.

"Maybe I'll just sleep on it." Arthur relaxed his eyes closed. Kiku whacked him on the back which caused Arthur to return to his upright position.

"You can't sleep now, I'm not going to do the experiment by myself." Arthur chuckled in response to Kiku's words.

"Alright. I'll fetch the equipment."

* * *

It was finally lunch time. Arthur walked down the hall and stopped as he approached the cafeteria. There was no need for him to go in there today as he had brought his own packed lunch, this also meant that he would hopefully be able to avoided bumping into Alfred. Kiku had promised Feliciano that he would help him study during lunch time so he wouldn't be around. Arthur figured that this would be a good time for him to eat lunch in his secret spot.

Well the 'secret spot' wasn't completely secret, he was sure that there was at least a couple of people that knew its whereabouts, but it was a nice and quiet place that he liked to go to so he could think. Arthur left the hallway through one of the back doors, he turned left past the outside of the library and walked across the field. He approached a wooden fence, he climbed over it and made his way through some shrubs and bushes. Back when he had first found this spot, there was no fence and the area wasn't so overgrown so it was easier to get in and out of. The upside to it being this way, however, was that there was a lesser chance of him being found if a certain American came looking for him. He came out of the bushes into another field like area, this one smaller, and made his way left following the path of dirt on the floor. He stepped over a small fence and came into the secret spot, trees surrounded it and an assortment of flowers grew on the bushes which gave the area some colour. The small, broken fence enveloped the spot giving the feel of pleasant solitude. Light seeped through the gaps of the trees and so the area had the right balance of shade and warmth. Arthur breathed in the warm air, the smell of overgrown grass and sweet smelling flowers lingered in his nostrils until he let out a relaxed sigh. Arthur almost jumped when he saw another person in _his_ secret spot. He didn't know why he was so surprised though, he guessed it was because he hadn't seen anyone come here in a very long time. The boy looked up from the book he was reading, his wavy blonde hair falling over his face as he did so.

"Arthur?" he hastily placed his bookmark into his book and stood up.

"Oh, Matthew. I had no idea that you knew the whereabouts of this place."

"I'm sorry..would you like to be alone?" Matthew asked shyly. Arthur shook his head.

"No. I just came here to eat lunch actually" He smiled "Come on, sit with me." Arthur sat crossed-legged on the soft grass and patted the space beside him. Matthew obeyed and sat next to Arthur. "So, how did you find this place then?" Arthur asked, whilst getting his lunch out of his bag.

"Well...A few years back in PE we were doing cross-country. I got lost on the way round the field and stumbled across the area just outside here, I always hated PE so I figured I'd take my time and have a look around. And then I found this place..I like to do reading here. It's relaxing and away from other people." Arthur nodded, he picked up one of his sandwiches and bit into it, making sure to swallow his food before speaking.

"I see." he took another bite. He didn't care what Alfred or any of the others said, he loved his home-made food.

"What about you?"

He swallowed his mouthful of food. "Well, when I first joined the school I didn't have many friends" Arthur scratched his head _'and I still don't'. _Matthew's mouth opened slightly as he listened to Arthur, it felt like he was really opening up to him. "So I used to go off exploring a lot. I always liked how our school was in a rural type area so it felt like there were so many places to explore. I used to play pirate by myself at the stream just over there." He gestured to his right, chuckling "It was all quite silly really." But Matthew didn't think it was silly at all, he had always assumed that Arthur was one of the popular type people.

"That's lovely." Matthew smiled. "Sometimes I used to come here, hoping that someone would come looking for me. But no one ever did. I suppose it was my fault for waiting in such a unknown place." he laughed nervously, attempting to lighten the mood. Arthur furrowed his brow. He thought that he had it bad, but no one even noticed when Matthew wasn't there. He didn't have anyone. Arthur gently touched his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile, Matthew's cheeks tinted light pink at his touch.

Arthur returned to eating his sandwiches, not feeling the need to say anything else. But then he began thinking, had he gotten in the way of Alfred and Matthew? He thought back to all the times that he had thought bitter things about the two of them being together. But what if Matthew really needed someone like Alfred? He sure needed someone to look out for him, but was Arthur really enough for him as his friend? He finished the last part of his sandwich before turning his attention to Matthew who had returned to reading his book.

"I don't mean to sound forward..." Matthew gazed up at Arthur, his cheeks growing redder at the suggestiveness of those words. "But..is there something going on between you and Alfred?" Matthew's face dropped.

"No. Not in a romantic sense." Arthur felt internally relieved, but shook this off.

"Sorry, I don't mean to pry..It's just that Alfred has been spending quite a lot of time with you lately so I just assumed.." Arthur trailed off, why was he telling all of this to Matthew anyway?

"Yeah..I never know where I stand with Alfred to be honest with you. When we first met we used to hang out all the time, but then I guess he forgot about me because the day we went to McDonalds was the first time we had properly communicated in months." Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, _'stupid Alfred'. _Arthur wished that he had never asked, of course Matthew was completely innocent, and now he had just reminded him of bad memories to do with Alfred. Arthur gave Matthew a light pat to the back.

"So, what book is that you're reading?" Arthur asked, in an attempt to distract Matthew.

"It's 'The Tiger in The Well' by Philip Pullman, my favourite out of the Sally Lockhart books. It was my favourite book when I was younger too. I think it still is" He giggled. Arthur was relieved that he didn't mope about on negative thoughts, unlike himself.

"Ah yes. I'm familiar with these books" he picked up the book, inspecting the front and back covers. "I was always more of a J.K. Rowling kind of guy myself though" he winked at Matthew whose eyes grew wide.

"Me too!" He responded excitingly, he blushed as he saw Arthur's surprised look as he returned the book to him "The Harry Potter series is a classic" he mumbled huddling his book close to his chest. Arthur smiled, Matthew had really opened up to him. He was glad that he had gotten to know him this afternoon. He was very pleasant company. "I have other books too". Arthur led on the grass.

"Oh yeah?" he relaxed his hands behind his head, Matthew led next to him.

"Yes. I have books by Leo Tolstoy and Stephen King and C.S. Lewis and many others" his voice became excited again.

"Wonderful, you ought to show me your collection sometime" Arthur closed his eyes, he felt Matthew shuffle around awkwardly next to him.

"Really? You'd really want to?"

"Of course. It could be quite a lot of fun." Matthew blushed, he was glad that Arthur couldn't see. "I suppose we should exchange numbers then." Matthew sat up.

"W-What?"

Arthur opened one of his eyes to look at Matthew "You do have a mobile phone, don't you?" Matthew nodded shyly in response. Arthur smiled at him and held out his hand, Matthew stuck his hand in his school bag and rummaged around for his phone, he pulled it out and placed it in Arthur's hand. It was an older, flip-up phone, Arthur had assumed that everyone had moved on to iPhones and other smart phones by now. He flipped up the top and went to add his number, he had a look at his other contacts whilst he was there. He saw one labelled 'Mom' and another called 'Dad' and one under the name 'Alfred'...and that was it. Arthur furrowed his brow, even he had more contacts than this. He even had Francis' number, but that was mainly used for prank calls. He typed in his number next to the name 'Arthur' he added on a flower emoticon at the end, to remind him of the time they had spent here in his secret spot – _their_ secret spot. He handed Matthew's phone back to him, he grinned at it._ 'Finally!'_

Arthur passed his phone to Matthew, he wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first so Arthur had to show him where to put in his contact details. Matthew typed in his number next to the name 'Matthew' but instead of a flower emoticon he had put a heart. Matthew blushed as he passed the phone back to Arthur, he glanced at the name that Matthew had put for his contact _'How odd.' _

Arthur then felt drops of rain fall on his forehead, he sat up. "I guess we better head back now." As he stood up, the rain started getting heavier. Arthur glanced at Matthew, he didn't seem to have his blazer on him – no surprise, the weather looked lovely just a moment ago. He pulled off his blazer and handed it to Matthew. "Here" Matthew took the blazer shyly and Arthur smiled _'This is just what we gentlemen do' _he smirked to himself. Matthew put Arthur's blazer on, it was still warm from when he had been wearing it. Arthur and Matthew went back through the bushes, Arthur helped his friend over the fence and the two of them rushed back over the field. Matthew began to hold Arthur's blazer over his head to use as a makeshift umbrella as the rain started falling harder, the two of them went through the same door that Arthur had used to exit on the way out. They walked in to see a familiar American looking through classroom doors, he was looking for someone.

Alfred glanced over at the door, Arthur froze. He had forgotten that he had gone to the secret spot to get away from Alfred.

"Oh my god there you are! Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." He approached his two classmates, the thoughtful look in Alfred's eyes made Arthur feel uncomfortable.

"What's it to you? I'm an independent person, I can go wherever I please." Arthur stated, for a moment he forgot about his polite façade and decided to speak his mind.

"Well yeah..But you know that I've been wanting to talk to you all day.." He scratched the back of his neck and glanced at Arthur who had already crossed his arms. "Hey Matthew" he muttered, he noticed Matthew clutching Arthur's blazer. _'There's something fishy going on..'._

"Yes well I've told you already that you'll have to wait. Out of school hours are appropriate to talk about things that are not to do with school." Arthur stated, matter-of-factly. He didn't believe this however, he just felt like he needed an excuse to not hear what Alfred wanted to say.

"So how about after school today?"

"Um..I can't today..I've got studying to do.." He saw Alfred open his mouth to speak again and so he hastily added "and for the rest of the week too.." Alfred closed his mouth.

Alfred glanced around the hall for a moment, he scratched his chin "How about the weekend then" Alfred smirked, what other excuse could he possibly make?

"Umm well..." Arthur bit his lip as he saw Alfred's smirk. He glanced to his right at Matthew, his eyes grew wide. "Actually me and Matthew were planning on doing something this weekend" he explained, putting his arm around Matthew. Matthew froze on the spot, but quickly nodded at Alfred's confused face.

"What?" He glared at Arthur, and then at Matthew. He sighed and pulled Arthur aside, away from the Canadian. "Why do you keep running from me?" he whispered. Arthur straightened out his shirt that Alfred had just crumpled with his grasp.

"I'm not running. And please, stop grabbing me like that!"

"Yes you are! I've been wanting to talk to you all day and you wouldn't let me have a word in edgeways." His mind wandered, what if Arthur had remembered some things from the other night? Maybe that's why he had been avoiding him. "..You didn't happen to have..uhh..any recollection of the other night, did you?" He asked, creating more of a gap between them as he shuffled backwards.

"What are you talking about? You know I don't-" He stopped as he saw Alfred's cheeks going red. "Alfred" Arthur began to raise his voice "What went on that night? What aren't you telling me?".

_'Why do you always get it so wrong, you idiot!' _Alfred scratched his cheek, he could feel the warmth of the blood gathering there. "Oh never mind. I just remembered I gotta run, see you!" He began to take off but then stopped, turning to Arthur. "Just..call me or something, okay?" he gave a faint smile. Now Arthur was really confused, even more confused than before.

As Alfred started running off he yelled "Now who's running away?" He brushed his hair out of his face "Git." he muttered under his breath. He turned to Matthew, he had almost forgotten he was there – he was really quiet. "Sorry about that...just typical banter" he chuckled. Matthew had seen Arthur and Alfred's 'typical banter' various times before, and this was not it. There was something going on but Matthew would rather not get involved, he couldn't help feeling that he was already involved in the happenings however.

Matthew laughed awkwardly. He smiled at his classmate "That's okay, I'm used to this sort of thing." Arthur returned a smile to Matthew, and they both began walking down the hall. "I'm free Saturday" Matthew stated. Arthur hadn't realised that he had planned something with Matthew, he hated to admit it but he had only blurted that out as an excuse. Still, he wasn't doing anything on Saturday and Matthew was a nice guy so why not?

"Me too. Your place or mine?" Arthur brushed his hair out of his face.

Matthew became slightly flustered, did Arthur say things suggestively on purpose? "Mine..I-I suppose since I could show you my books.."

"Sounds good. It's a date" he stated casually, picking some lint off of his blazer. He glanced at Matthew who had stopped walking. _'Did he mean that..in a romantic sense?' _Matthew pondered at the thought. Arthur didn't give a second thought to his own choice of words, but Matthew seemed to take his statement more literally than he had intended.

He needed to be sure, however. "Um Arthur...did you mean that in-" Matthew was interrupted by the sound of the school bell.

"Okay well I guess I'll see you later" Arthur smiled "Give me a text so we can sort out a time for Saturday." Matthew nodded as his classmate waved at him, before walking in to the room on his right.

"But is it just a date or is it a.._date_?" He mumbled to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

Of course it was just a friendly gathering. Matthew paced up and down his room. He and Arthur hardly knew each other, and although Matthew liked what he had seen of Arthur's personality so far, it was just too soon. Matthew sat on his bed anxiously, he glanced at the clock on the wall. '_12:30pm, he'll be here in thirty minutes'. _He glanced at his collection of teddy bears that sat at the bottom of his bed. Some were old ones that he had as a child and kept, and some were new. His parents always got him teddy bears for his birthday and for Christmas, you could tell which was which as most of the Christmas teddies wore hats and scarves. He had more teddy bears in his attic as well, he just couldn't bring himself to throw them away.

He reminded himself that Arthur would be over soon, he panicked. He'd be so embarrassed if Arthur saw these teddy bears, what would he say? He'd probably laugh. He began picking up the teddies and throwing them into a pile on the floor. He stopped when he got to the fifth teddy, remembering Arthur's kind face and polite presence. Surely Arthur wouldn't laugh, Arthur wasn't anything like Alfred who constantly mocked him. Arthur wasn't rude or obnoxious or self centred, all of the insults seemed to pour out. He picked up his teddies, carefully placing them in to their allocated positions at the bottom of his bed.

Matthew's phone buzzed which caused him to jump. He panicked, what if Arthur was cancelling on him? Matthew had really been looking forward to spending some time with Arthur, but things like this always happened to him. He was always let down. He hesitantly picked his mobile phone off of his bedside table and flipped it open, revealing a message from Alfred.

_**Hey dude,**_

_**Have you heard from Arthur lately? He's ignoring me. Lemme know if you hear anything – I'm countin' on ya! :P**_

Matthew let out a sigh of relief, but now how should he reply to Alfred? He began typing a message back, but then deleted it. He didn't want to mention that Arthur was coming to his house, and by the looks of the text message Alfred seemed to have forgotten that they ever arranged anything. He decided not to reply instead as he figured that it would be easier than trying to rack his brain for a logical answer.

_**DINGDONG**_

Matthew jumped again at the sudden sound. He glanced at the time on his phone _'12:34pm..he's early!' _Matthew stumbled into the bathroom to check his appearance, he gave his hair a quick brush before rushing downstairs to answer the door.

He opened the door to find a well dressed Brit in front of him. He wore a stripy red T-shirt, light blue jeans and his very stylish union jack Converse. Even when he wore casual clothes he looked sophisticated.

"Come on in" Matthew uttered shyly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Thanks. Sorry I'm a little early, the traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." He glanced at Matthew "Should I remove my shoes?".

"Yes please." He replied. Alfred always made a mess of the floor when he came over. Matthew had to ask him to take his shoes off numerous times before he actually did it. He watched Arthur bend down to undo his laces, why was he comparing Arthur to Alfred all of a sudden?

Arthur removed his shoes and placed them alongside Matthew's. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. It was a message from Alfred. Over the past few days Alfred had been messaging Arthur non-stop, Arthur was willing to admit to himself that he was ignoring him. He knew it wasn't fair on Alfred, but he really didn't know what else to do at this point. He also liked getting so much attention from Alfred. He finally felt like the American actually wanted his attention, and he wasn't willing to give that up so easily. He glanced at his phone for a moment before placing it back into his pocket.

"Soo.." Arthur looked around the room. Matthew's house was nice, it reminded him of his grandmothers house as there were various ornaments and paintings on the walls. His living room was small, but cosy and he had a floral rug on the laminated wood floor which gave the room a rustic feel. Matthew also had framed messages around the room such as 'if friends were flowers, I'd pick you' and 'dream until your dreams come true'. Arthur found these quite cheesy, but if this was what Matthew liked then who was he to judge? He averted his gaze back to Matthew, who hadn't spoken a word.

Matthew met Arthur's gaze, realising that he had just zoned out. "Sorry" he looked down at his feet. Arthur smiled, Matthew reminded him of himself in some senses. "Oh I forgot, I baked some BeaverTails." Matthew rushed into the kitchen before Arthur could utter another word. He returned a moment later with a plate full of delicious looking pastries.

"I don't think I've ever heard of these before." he inspected the plate. The pastries were stretched out to resemble the shape of a beaver's tail and some were dusted in cinnamon and others spread with chocolate. Matthew pulled off the cling film that enclosed the pastries and gestured for Arthur to take one, he obeyed and bit in to one of the pastries. "Wow, this is great!" Matthew blushed at Arthur's compliment.

"Really? Thank you" Arthur finished the pastry and Matthew grabbed him a napkin from the kitchen.

"I had no idea you could cook as well. I'll have to make you some scones sometime." Arthur rubbed the cinnamon off of his hands but Matthew froze. He had heard about Arthur's horrible cooking, but he didn't want to offend him. Arthur noticed Matthew's expression change to one of worry. "Scones are great, they're not as bad as everyone thinks. I promise, you just need to serve them with cream and jam and you'll be fine!" Arthur stated in a matter-of-fact manner. Matthew smiled.

"Okay. I believe you." Matthew wrapped the cling film back over the plate and placed it on the kitchen counter. "My books are upstairs." Arthur nodded and followed Matthew up to his room.

Matthew's room was how Arthur had pictured it. The walls were cream coloured and there were motivational cat posters here and there. He had an old, brown bookcase full of books and a bed full of teddy bears. Arthur smiled, Matthew was still a child at heart.

Matthew picked out a selection of books from his bookcase and laid them on his carpet. The collection included 'War and Peace' and 'Emma' and had a mix of old and modern classics.

"No 'Fifty Shades of Grey' then?" Arthur winked at Matthew whose cheeks grew bright red. He shook his head vigorously. "I'm pulling your leg." Arthur chuckled as he picked up some of the novels. He noticed there was a pattern in the genre of the books that Matthew had taken out of his bookcase. He had some war and mystery novels, but the overwhelming majority of the books seemed to be romance novels. Arthur glanced at Matthew who was looking through his collection, a proud smile on his face. Maybe Matthew was a hopeless romantic.

Matthew and Arthur sat on the carpet around the pile of books and had a discussion. They talked about their favourite novels and their thoughts on the books in front of them. Matthew was having such a great time with Arthur and they seemed to have so much in common, he never wanted this day to end. Arthur leaned over Matthew to grab a book that was just out of reach from where he was sat. The Canadian froze, Arthur was so close to him right now. His heart began to race and his cheeks tinted bright pink.

"Oh 'Great Expectations', now that's a classic." Arthur stated, returning to his position. He glanced at Matthew who was looking down at the novel that was sat on his lap. Matthew couldn't stand it, he clearly had some feelings for Arthur. Sure, he got flustered easily but he had never known anyone like Arthur before. There was also a chance that he liked him too, wasn't there?

"Arthur..I don't want this to come across as-"

"Hold that thought. I just remembered that I have a Charles Dickens novel in my car that I think you'll enjoy." Arthur got up from the floor and headed out the bedroom door "I'll be right back."

Matthew nodded as Arthur left the room. He let out a sigh. Maybe it just wasn't the right time to say anything. Now he didn't have anything to do but wait anxiously for Arthur's return. He heard a buzz but it wasn't coming from his own phone. He looked around and saw Arthur's phone on his bed. He got up clumsily and went over to his bed, he cautiously picked up the phone. Arthur had a lock on his phone so he couldn't go inside - _not that he'd want to_. He could see a lot of messages from Alfred on the screen, most asking him to stop ignoring him. The most recent message however said: _**'Fine. If that's the way you wanna be.' **_What could this mean? Was Alfred finally going to leave Arthur alone?

"It's an amazing piece of satirical writing but it's generally forgotten about even though it's a classic." Matthew dropped the smart phone on the bed upon hearing Arthur's return and spun around in one quick motion. "I think you'll enjoy it though." He smiled, handing Matthew the book.

"'Little Dorrit', no I haven't read this one." He smiled back at Arthur. "So do you always carry Dickens' books around in your car?" Matthew asked, giggling.

"No, I brought it for you actually." He chuckled, returning to his position on the floor.

"For...me?" Matthew's mouth grew agape slightly. The thought of Arthur taking the time to specifically choose a book especially for him, it baffled him. He really admired Arthur, to him the Brit was like some sort of celebrity.

"Yes. It's one of my favourites. It is gloomy and has various themes of sadness but overall I find it a very pleasant read." Arthur found it hard to read Matthew's expression, was he confused? "I just thought you'd like to borrow it maybe."

Matthew sat next to Arthur. "R-Really? Can I?" A grin spread across Matthew's face as he eyed the front cover of the book.

"Of course you can." Seeing Matthew so excited made Arthur smile. He liked how the shy Canadian was child-like, it reminded him of his younger years. His mind wandered to thoughts of him and Alfred playing together as kids, he pushed away the thoughts when he remembered the look in Alfred's eyes that Monday afternoon. Arthur had managed to get away from Alfred pretty much scot-free for the rest of the school week. He purposely surrounded himself with his classmates during the break and lunch hours so there was no way Alfred could talk to him. He knew it was bad, and even when he tried to justify it in his mind it sounded bad. He brought himself back to reality with a subtle head shake. This wasn't the time or the place, he just wanted to have a pleasant day with his friend Matthew.

"Umm..what were we talking about before I left?" Arthur tapped his chin.

"Who knows." Matthew uttered hastily. "But...thank you for letting me borrow this." Matthew held up the novel and Arthur nodded.

"You're welcome."

* * *

For the next half an hour Arthur and Matthew continued their discussion on books. Once they ran out of things to say, Matthew went down to the kitchen to make them tea. Arthur sat on Matthew's bed and was handed the cup of tea.

"Thanks. This tea cup reminds me of a tea set my grandmother had." He chuckled at the fond memories. Whenever he went to Alfred's house he would have to have tea in a mug since the American, of course, didn't own any proper tea sets. He took a sip of the tea, it felt comfortable as it wasn't exactly how he liked it but it was nice nonetheless. It was also way better than any tea Alfred could have made. "It's lovely." Matthew's cheeks flushed at the compliment. Matthew sipped his own cup of tea, he smiled. Arthur was right, it was lovely.

"This is nice." Matthew gazed at his reflection in the beige liquid "Spending time with you, I mean." He added, meeting his classmate's gaze. Arthur gave a friendly smile in response.

"I must apologise." Matthew became alert at Arthur's words. "I should have made more of an effort with you sooner. Who knew we had so much in common?" He chuckled, placing his cup of tea on to Matthew's bedside table. Matthew shook his head.

"You needn't apologise. I'm shy, so I find it hard to get along with people. But you...you seem to get me in a way that no one else can.." he took a sip of his tea in an attempt to cover his now red face. He looked up to see Arthur giving a sympathetic smile. He didn't say anything, he just nodded softly.

Matthew could feel his heart melt just at the sight of his British classmate. He was sophisticated, polite, and extremely charming. Arthur's eyes reminded Matthew of the lush green grass that they had sat on that Monday afternoon, and the twinkle in his eyes led Matthew to believe that there was another side to Arthur. A dangerous, unruly side. Matthew had to admit that he thought Alfred was good looking too with his golden blonde hair and typical grin, but Arthur was different. Matthew thought that his bushy eyebrows were oddly attractive and his gentlemanliness led Matthew to believe that he would be the perfect boyfriend. Or even husband.

Matthew became flustered at his thoughts, he averted his gaze back to his warm cup of tea. _'Oh gosh..how long have I been staring?'. _Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it. There was something odd about how Matthew was acting, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Matthew put his cup of tea on his bedside table next to Arthur's and took in a deep breath. He let out a relaxed sigh, tilting his glasses which had gone wonky.

Matthew began fidgeting with his shirt _'Just do it!' _he gazed up at Arthur who was now sipping his own cup of tea. Arthur caught Matthew staring, something about the silence felt awkward. Should he say something? He really didn't know, and so he kept sipping. He averted his attention to Matthew's face. He looked content, a light blush spread over his cheeks and his wavy blonde hair fell over his face slightly. Alfred was right about Matthew being cute, but what else did they have in common? It was clear to see that Matthew wasn't overly fond of Alfred, especially since he had opened up to him, but Arthur began to wonder if he felt anything romantic for Alfred at all. The idea to ask him lingered in his mind for a few moments, but then Arthur shook it off. It was a silly idea. He didn't want to use Matthew to learn things about Alfred – at least that's what he wanted to believe. He would eventually have to be upfront with Alfred, that was for sure. But he began to wonder whether there had been any point in being jealous in the first place – well of course he wasn't _jealous,_ he was just growing fond of Alfred for some unknown reason and didn't like other people getting involved. Yes, something like that. But if only he knew what Matthew really felt and if there was a chance that the Canadian and the American could be perfect for each other.

Arthur's train of thought was interrupted as he felt Matthew lean on his shoulder. Startled by the sudden touch, Arthur almost spilt his tea but managed to carefully place it on the bedside table. He cautiously gazed to his right, Matthew's eyes were closed as he nuzzled into his shoulder. A moment later, Arthur felt Matthew wrap his arms around his own. He froze.

How could he have been such an idiot? All of the evidence was right there in front of his eyes. He internally face-palmed, all of the blushing and the staring were clear indicators that Matthew harboured some feelings for him. At first he felt a wave of embarrassment flush over him, all of this time he had been concerned that Matthew was going to take Alfred away from him when really that wasn't even close to happening. He then felt flattered, he hadn't known of anyone fancying him before, it definitely made him feel wanted. And it must've taken so much courage, especially for someone like Matthew, to do something like this. He then felt terrible. Matthew was a nice, sweet guy, but Arthur just didn't feel the same way about him. What was he going to do? What was he going to say? He didn't want to break poor little Matthew's heart, but at the same time he didn't want to lead him on.

Struggling for ideas of what to do, he decided upon giving Matthew a light pat on the head using the arm he wasn't clinging on to. Matthew looked up, his expression became determined "I...I-I want to say-"

_**DINGDONG**_

Matthew let go of Arthur at the sudden sound and quickly got off of the bed. Arthur let out a sigh of relief.

"I'd better go and answer the door.." He gave Arthur a nervous grin before hastily leaving the room, letting out a frustrated sigh as he did so.

Arthur flopped down on Matthew's bed. Things suddenly became exhausting, he didn't want to be rude but he'd probably have to leave soon to avoid anymore awkwardness before deciding what to do next. Arthur froze once he heard a very familiar voice from downstairs. His heart began to beat fast.

"Hey dude, can I come in?" Alfred asked as he walked into the house anyway.

"Um...well..I do have a guest right now.." Matthew replied, fiddling with his fingers.

Alfred smirked "Oh, really? Well is it cool if I stay too?" Alfred had already taken off his jacket by this point.

Matthew glanced nervously up the stairs. "I-I suppose.."

"Sweet!" Alfred jumped on to one of Matthew's sofas.

"Please, remove your shoes!"

Arthur sighed. Part of him just wanted to hide under Matthew's bed until Alfred was gone, but that was a preposterous idea. He figured that he might as well face Alfred, since he was here. And hey, maybe with Matthew here Alfred wouldn't act strange with him. With this thought in mind, Arthur drank the rest of his tea and made his way down the stairs.

"Oh hey Arthur, didn't know you were here." Alfred's smirk grew bigger as he stood up from his seat. Arthur stood at the bottom of the stairs, seeing Alfred this eager to talk to him made him feel uneasy. Matthew shrunk into his clothes, he could feel the tension between his two classmates. He really wished that they could have settled things at one of their own houses.

"Do you still want to talk?" Arthur asked half-heartedly, crossing him arms.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do." Alfred was now in front of Arthur. He grabbed his hand and led him into Matthew's kitchen. "Won't be a minute Mattie, pay no attention to us." he called, pulling the door to. Alfred let out a sigh "Finally." there was a small pause and Arthur rose an eyebrow to Alfred. "Shit...Y'know I didn't really plan what I was gonna say.." he scratched the back of his neck, nervously laughing.

"Idiot. Can we hurry this up? Poor Matthew is waiting out there alone and-"

"Hey, you're not getting out of this again." Alfred cut him off. Arthur rolled his eyes and gestured for him to continue. "Okay so..I've been feeling weird recently.." Alfred looked down at the floor and drew patterns on the kitchen tiles with his foot. Arthur had never seen Alfred look so nervous or embarrassed, it worried him. "Okay, look. There were some..things that happened that night I took you back to mine.."

"Hold it right there. First you need to tell me about that night. You have to tell me what really happened!" Arthur exclaimed, Alfred put a finger to his lips gesturing his head towards the door.

"Shh..Matthew is like..right outside. And I can't do that." Alfred shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because..."Alfred bit his lip whilst scratching the back of his neck.

On the other side of the door, Matthew was growing impatient and curious. He decided to pull the kitchen door open slightly to view the happenings. This was _his_ house and, he decided, he had the right to know what was going on in _his_ kitchen.

"No more excuses! How are you ever going to tell me what you want to tell me if you're not going to be honest? What happened that night, Alfred?" Arthur was frustrated, he felt the crease in his forehead grow more defined.

Alfred gulped. He clenched his fists, Arthur saw that determined look on his face again. He walked towards Arthur, backing him into the kitchen counter. He had nowhere to go. Arthur felt himself leaning backwards until his head hit one of the overhead cupboards as Alfred leaned in close. Arthur felt scared, Alfred was usually unpredictable but this..this was just strange.

Before he could think anything else, Alfred smashed his lips against his own. Matthew's heart sank.

The kiss that started roughly soon became sweet and gentle. Alfred softly brushed his lips against Arthur's, the smooth warmth of his lips made Arthur's heart flutter. Their lips caressed and the tender touch of Alfred lips made his legs wobbly like jelly. Arthur never wanted the kiss to end, but it was finished within the blink of an eye. Alfred pulled away, causing Arthur to lean forwards as he did so, hungry for another kiss. Both boys averted their gaze from one another, their cheeks bright red.

Remembering the situation, Alfred whispered "That's what happened." he moved away from Arthur. Matthew saw Alfred heading towards the kitchen door and so he sprinted over to the sofa and sat down with lightening speed.

Arthur was still frozen in position, everything happened so fast. He stayed frozen for a moment, trying to figure out why that had just happened. His lips still tingled from Alfred's touch. He shook his head, bringing himself back to reality.

"Hey!" Alfred turned to look at Arthur. "W-Wait a god-damn minute!" his voice was shaky, just like his knees. "What makes you think you can-" He stopped himself, remembering Matthew was sat just a few feet away from him. He took in a deep breath and pointed to Alfred and then to the kitchen. Alfred sighed but he obeyed Arthur and returned to the kitchen. "Sorry Matthew..won't be a minute." Arthur gave a forced smile to Matthew who nodded in response along with a forced smile of his own.

Arthur closed the door behind them. "What makes you think you can do...that?" he purposely avoided using the word 'kiss' as he knew his cheeks would grow even redder than they were already – if that was even possible. He avoided Alfred's gaze ,he shuffled nervously in place.

"Well you wanted to know what happened the other night.." Alfred mumbled, looking down at the floor again. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but held his breath at the realisation of what Alfred had just said.

"You kissed me while I was drunk?" Arthur asked,outraged, whilst trying his best to whisper.

"Correction, _you_ kissed _me._" Alfred smirked to himself, reminding himself of that evening. Arthur leant on the kitchen counter and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Oh god..So what, were you doing a demonstration or something just now?" he huffed, standing upright again. Alfred scratched his head as he saw Arthur place his hands on his hips, a bitter look on his face. Alfred didn't reply so Arthur added "Well?"

Alfred shook his head and sighed. He approached Arthur, placing his hands firmly on his shoulders. "Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. Lately, you're all I think about." Arthur's heart skipped a beat at his words, he could feel his face growing warmer. Alfred looked away as he saw Arthur's eyes grow wide. "So please..I need to know what you're feeling right now-"

"I thought you liked Matthew." Arthur interrupted.

"I do. Well...I dunno..I'm a mess at the moment.." Alfred released Arthur from his grasp, placing his hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor.

Arthur smirked. "I'm sorry Alfred, but you can't just go around...kissing people whenever you please." Alfred looked up, his expression changed to one of worry.

"But I wasn't-"

"You know, you can't just claim me as your own by kissing me. There's rules when it comes to relationships." he crossed his arms, Alfred noticed a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I know that. That's why I'm asking you about your..y'know.._feelings"_ Alfred twiddled his thumbs.

Arthur smirked as Alfred averted his gaze to his hands. He opened the door, feeling powerful. He had never seen Alfred so vulnerable, he had the upper hand now and he _loved it_. If Alfred really liked him, he would have to prove it.

"We should really get back to Matthew." Arthur strolled out of the kitchen and sat himself next to Matthew on the sofa. Alfred followed after him and sat on the sofa across from them.

"Sorry about that Matthew." Arthur placed his arm around Matthew and squeezed him close. "But overall, have you had a nice time today?" He looked down at Matthew whose cheeks were already bright pink. He nodded before nuzzling into Arthur's chest, almost completely forgetting what he had seen in the kitchen earlier.

Alfred's mouth grew agape. _'What the hell is going on here?' _he felt various emotions flow through him. One was, no doubt, jealousy. However, he couldn't figure out whether he was jealous of Arthur or Matthew. Or possibly even both? He shook his head. "I'm gonna bounce out. I've got...stuff to do." He headed towards the door and began to put on his jacket. Matthew reluctantly got up from his position to open the door for Alfred.

"Are you sure? I don't mind you staying." Matthew was trying to be polite but it was the truth. As long as he had Arthur and the two weren't fighting, he really didn't mind if he stayed. Alfred looked over at Arthur, who turned away once he met his gaze.

"Yeah. I've got to go." And then before the Brit or the Canadian could utter another word, he was gone.

Arthur wondered, had he been too harsh with Alfred? Part of him had wanted to throw his arms around Alfred and say _'Oh Alfred I feel exactly the same!' _but he knew that he needed to know for sure if Alfred's feelings were genuine or not. That and the fact that this was so unbelievably entertaining. Matthew sat down next to Arthur again, he nuzzled into him.

Arthur froze._ 'Shit.' _He hadn't realised before, but now he really felt like he was leading Matthew on. He just wanted to make Alfred a little jealous – more like, _a lot_ jealous. He didn't mean to get Matthew involved in this. But then again, Alfred did say that he still liked Matthew. Arthur figured, as long as he didn't do anything too suggestive and possibly only went as far as light flirting, his actions were completely justifiable. Weren't they?


	9. Chapter 9

Alfred lay awake in his bed. There were only two questions on his mind: Did he like Arthur or Matthew? And did Arthur like Matthew or him?

Alfred's head ached out of confusion. He was pretty sure that Arthur at least liked him a little, especially after the way he acted when Alfred flirted with him, but maybe that was just his ego talking. Maybe he didn't know Arthur as well as he had initially thought. He groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. He glanced up at the ceiling, painting a picture of Arthur and Matthew with his mind. Matthew was adorable with his soft violet eyes, wavy hair and timid nature. Arthur's complexion and personality differed so much in comparison, he had scruffy blonde hair and big bushy eyebrows and he was bitter and crude. But Alfred couldn't help thinking that he was kinda hot, especially when he had a smirk on his lips. The kisses they shared also contributed to his new found fondness of his British classmate, Arthur was so daring and sexy that night he was drunk – which led Alfred to believe that he'd be awesome in the bedroom. He had kissed Arthur at Matthew's house mainly because he really wanted to, he needed to relieve himself of all of the emotions that he had been feeling. Alfred couldn't help feeling that these emotions were starting to build up again as his heart beat faster and his tummy flipped just thinking about kissing Arthur, that's when he realised – he desperately needed another kiss.

Alfred rolled over until he had a face full of pillow. He groaned into the pillow, he couldn't stand it. He wanted to kiss Arthur all over, he wanted to touch him, to feel his warm body against his own. Alfred sat up, he was so frustrated, he had half a mind to call Arthur up right now, invite him over and embrace him for all eternity. But he couldn't do that. Firstly, Arthur would never come over for a cuddle because that would be a bizarre request. Secondly, for all he knew, Arthur could already be Matthew's boyfriend. And finally, Arthur would find out the extent of his feelings and that would not be cool. He needed to at least try to be casual about all of this, he had a reputation to uphold. With the thought of his reputation in mind, Alfred got his phone out of his pocket – still no messages.

He sighed and got off of his bed, he paced downstairs and poured himself a glass of milk in the kitchen. Arthur was right, he couldn't claim him by kissing him. So how could he _claim_ him? Alfred shook his head as he sat on his couch and turned on the TV. Since when had he wanted to 'claim' Arthur anyway? And where did Matthew fall in to all of this? He thought about Matthew's gentle smile and kind nature as he gulped down his milk, he wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Sweet, probably. But kissing Arthur could be, as he now knew, sweet _and_ rough. Alfred brought a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes whilst flicking through TV channels using the remote in his other hand. This was silly – what was he even thinking? But Alfred wondered, was it wrong for him to want to kiss Arthur _and_ Matthew?

* * *

Arthur waited outside the school gates for his classmate. Arthur had purposely been avoiding Matthew all week in the fear that he would do something stupid if Alfred suddenly turned up. Luckily however, Arthur hadn't seemed to run into the American at all the past few days – the only logical explanation was that he must've been avoiding him too. Arthur saw his Asian friend approaching the gate and so he gave him a wave, he would store his thoughts about Alfred away for another time. The slender man strolled up to Arthur, giving him a friendly smile.

"Hi Kiku. How was your day?" Arthur couldn't help but regret his choice of wording as he thought he sounded like Kiku's wife after he returned home from work.

"Fine thank you. Alfred didn't say a word in Maths class though, which I find unusual." Arthur felt his heart rate increase and cheeks grow warm at the mention of the American's name, but he tried to shake it off as he and Kiku walked away from the school building. It didn't work, however, as Kiku noticed he was become slightly flustered. "I have a feeling that you know why that is."

"What are you, crazy?" The nervous laughter started, which verified the fact that Kiku was right.

"Well it is none of my business. It is just odd to see him act in such a strange way." Arthur nodded, feeling somewhat guilty.

He sighed. "Oh Kiku, I just don't know what to do. The truth is, there have been some.._events _happening between me and Alfred. But the worst part is, now Matthew has gotten involved and I just know that his feelings are going to end up being hurt.." Arthur kicked his foot against the pavement in frustration, he looked up at Kiku who had a thoughtful look on his face. "I'll spare you the details. Everything is becoming complicated. I'll just tell you this, I may now be 'playing hard to get' with Alfred." He used his fingers as quotation marks as Kiku watched a mischievous but at the same time, worried expression appear on his face.

"You should do what you want to do." Arthur raised his eyebrow at Kiku, who dismissed it with the wave of his hand. "What I mean is, just do what you think is right. You're a kind person, Arthur-san. You mean no harm. Trust your gut instinct, I know you'll make the right decisions in time." Kiku gave his classmate a gentle smile.

Arthur scratched his chin, somewhat puzzled by Kiku's words. Kiku was right, he needed to trust his gut. He was glad that Kiku wasn't interested in all of the high school gossip, it meant that his judgement wasn't persuaded by the need to see classmates embarrass themselves. Kiku's advice was never very specific, he liked to guide his friends along the right path but let them sort things out by themselves. Although this meant that it was difficult to get any literal advice out of Kiku, it was a good tactic as it did better for them in the long run. With this thought in mind, Arthur decided to change the subject.

"So, are you doing anything this weekend? I figured we could see a movie or something if you're available."

"Ah, that reminds me." Kiku stopped walking and took his bag off of his shoulder, Arthur stopped as well and watched as Kiku reached his hand into his bag. He fumbled around in his bag for a few moments more before pulling out an A5 sized card, he handed it to Arthur. Arthur examined the card.

_**Kiku,**_

_**You are invited to my AWESOME party!**_

_**This Saturday 8PM at my place, **__**bring booze**_

_**You can bring a guest – but NO LOSERS!**_

_**You better be there!**_

_**-Gilbert The Awesome**_

Arthur couldn't help but squint as his eyes darted across the brightly coloured card. For an invitation, Gilbert certainty had spent some time writing it and putting colourful,zigzag lines around the word 'AWESOME'. Arthur guessed that it would be quite a large party, since he didn't think that Kiku and Gilbert were that close. But that doesn't explain why he wasn't invited.

"I was given this the other day. I feel obliged to go since I was invited, but I think the party would be much more bearable if you accompanied me." Arthur raised his eyebrow as he pointed to the 'NO LOSERS' part of the invitation. "I'm sure he doesn't mean you." Kiku tried to say with sincerity, even though he knew there was a high chance that Gilbert considered Arthur a loser.

"I don't know. It's nice of you to invite me along, but I think I'd prefer a quiet evening alone at home." It was partly true. Arthur did enjoy quiet evenings, especially when they involved a warm cup of tea and a good book. But Arthur missed people. He felt like he was becoming more and more isolated everyday, and that there was no way to stop it. Kiku sensed that Arthur did not completely mean what he had said, he didn't like to see his friend worrying so much.

"I think it will do you good." He stated, placing a hand on the Brit's shoulder. Arthur still didn't seem convinced, a grave expression on his face. "It might take your mind off of certain _things_" He added, not wanting to outwardly mention the_ things_ in case he worried his friend further.

Arthur perked up, Kiku was right. "You know what? I think I will go to the party." The two friends exchanged smiles. "But what are you going to wear? It seems like a casual event, but do you think a sweater vest would be too much?" Kiku was relieved that Arthur's anxious expression was now thoughtful as he pondered on the thought of what to wear on Saturday.

"That may be a little too formal. But really, I don't think Gilbert would care." Arthur nodded, tapping his chin.

"I guess I'll have a look through my wardrobe when I get home." Arthur and Kiku began walking forwards again, "You're not bringing alcohol, are you?" Arthur added once he remembered the underlined words on the invitation.

"Probably not. I'm sure other guests will bring plenty." Arthur nodded, reminding himself that Kiku had never really been a big drinker. Arthur would have to cut down on the drinks at the party too, he wouldn't want to embarrass himself in front of Kiku. The thought of himself becoming drunk made Arthur's tummy flip as he was reminded of what Alfred had told him at Matthew's house a week ago. He had _kissed_ Alfred. If anything, what annoyed him more was that he didn't remember what the kiss felt like, not that he probably made a complete fool of himself in front of Alfred. Arthur shook away the thoughts, anxious that he had left Kiku to himself for longer than just a moment.

"I guess I'll see you on Saturday then." Arthur smiled as they stopped at the crossroads - Kiku lived in the opposite direction to Arthur. Kiku nodded and Arthur waved him goodbye before walking home.

* * *

Saturday was finally here. Arthur looked at his reflection in the long mirror on the front of his wardrobe, he moved some strands of hair until it was exactly how he liked it. He took a step back, admiring his outfit choice for the evening. He decided upon wearing dark blue jeans, Converse and – the more casual choice – a grey, buttoned up shirt. (Well he had the top two buttons undone – but _only_ because it was summer.) Arthur grabbed his cream trench coat off of his bed and put it on to complete the look. He smirked, turning to the left and to the right as he admired his physique. He even took a sneaky peek at his butt, he was satisfied that the jeans highlighted it well.

Arthur made his way downstairs and sat on his sofa, waiting for Kiku to arrive. He would've put the kettle on for a cup of tea but he was anxious for time as Kiku should arrive at any moment. Instead he picked up his book from the coffee table. 'Great Expectations', seeing the novel in Matthew's book collection made him want to read it again. He supposed that he'd have enough time for a quick read before Kiku knocked at his door.

_Chapter 12_

_My mind grew very uneasy on the subject of the pale young gentle-man. The more I thought of the fight, and recalled the pale young gentleman on his back in various stages of puffy and incrimsoned countenance, the more certain it appeared that something would be done to me._

Arthur stopped reading as, upon reading 'Young gentle-man' his mind only thought of Alfred. It was a pity, to be distracted from such a classic book by thoughts of a self-indulgent American. He continued reading, this time tracing each word with his finger.

_I felt that the pale young gentleman's blood was on my head, and that the Law would avenge it. Without having any definite idea of the penaltiesI had incurred, it was clear to me that village boys could not go stalking about the country, ravaging the houses of gentlefolks and pitching into the studious youth of England, without laying themselves open to severe punishment._

Arthur stopped himself again upon realising that he had not actually read a single word of the paragraph. He sighed, placing the book back down onto the coffee table. He would never be able to get any reading done if he always had that stupid American on his mind. He had wondered if Alfred would be attending Gilbert's party, to be honest he would be disappointed if Alfred didn't turn up at some point – he liked the idea of playing games to make Alfred come after_him_. But wasn't the whole point of him going to this party to get Alfred off of his mind? He groaned, realising that he had really only agreed to go to the party as he knew there was a more than likely chance that Alfred would be there too. Alfred loved to party, after all.

Arthur's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Arthur opened the door to find Kiku standing there in a not-so-casual outfit. Arthur and Kiku's faces both dropped upon seeing each other's outfits. Kiku wore a white shirt underneath a black vest, he also wore black trousers with a black belt and some black, wingtip shoes. He looked great, but it was certainly not what he pictured when they had agreed on _casual_ clothing.

"I knew I should have worn trousers, what was I thinking with these jeans?" He announced, gesturing towards the denim clinging to his legs.

"Oh no, I should have worn something similar to you." Kiku rubbed his forehead. "I thought you were going to wear a sweater vest and trousers." he shook his head. "I think this style suits you, Arthur." Arthur smiled, he agreed of course but didn't mention this in the fear that he would sound cocky like Alfred.

"And the same to you." Kiku nodded in appreciation before gesturing towards his car.

The two classmates got into Kiku's car and headed off to Gilbert's house.

* * *

Kiku and Arthur arrived at Gilbert's house half an hour late, (They got lost after they both found out that neither of them knew where Gilbert lived.) but they didn't think that he'd mind. The classmates got out of the car and glanced at the houses in front of them.

Kiku walked towards the one with the 'AWESOME PARTY INSIDE' banner across the door. "I think this is the one." Arthur chuckled. He was feeling excited, but also nervous. He didn't know what sort of reaction he'd get out of Gilbert, he might just turn him away at the door. Arthur took in a deep breath and followed Kiku to the front door. Kiku knocked twice, Arthur could hear booming music coming from the inside so at least there actually was a party inside. They waited a moment, Kiku was about to knock again before the door flung open. Gilbert stood there, he wore a pair of beer party glasses, a pink feather boa and an assortment of plastic rings on his fingers. He took a swig of the beer in his right hand and tilted his glasses down to take a look at his new guests.

"Hey Kiku! Glad you could make it 'cause this party is totally off the hook! It's freaking awesome baby. But why wouldn't it be?" He snorted, Kiku forced a smile in response. Gilbert shifted his gaze to the left of Kiku "Oh this must be your guest then, I don't remember inviting you." he peered in close to Arthur. The Brit gulped, he felt extremely nervous like a kid trying to get into an exclusive club that he wasn't old enough to attend. There was silence for a moment as Gilbert scratched his chin.

"Oh!" Kiku and Arthur both jumped at the sudden sound. "Is that you Artie? Man, I didn't recognise ya!" He pulled Arthur in for a bear hug. "You been on holiday or somethin'?" He asked as he pulled away from the embrace.

"No no." Arthur was confused. Gilbert had given him the nicest greeting, apart from not recognising him of course – but maybe it was just the clothes.

"Really? I swear I ain't seen you around school. How come you don't each lunch at my table then?" He looked serious, but then laughed as Arthur's face grew concerned. "Well in future, you should. Could always use a crude guy like you, man you're hilarious. Especially when you and Alfred fight – classic entertainment." He tried to contain his laughter in the fear that he was frightening his guests. "Anyways, get your asses inside, guys. Welcome to the awesomeness!" He examined, moving aside and giving his classmates a slight push into his living room.

Arthur immediately surveyed the room. He saw Francis sitting on the sofa with Antonio, Gilbert jumped in between them a moment later, no surprises there. To his right he saw Feliciano dancing next to Lovino who shoved him shouting "Quick embarrassing me!". He couldn't see Ludwig, but that wasn't really a surprise as partying with his younger brother was really not his idea of a good time. He also noticed various other classmates such as Vash, Elizaveta, Katyusha and Toris but there was no sign of Ivan, of course. Arthur had the feeling that Gilbert had only invited most of the people here as he wanted a large party, not because he actually liked them very much. That still didn't explain why he wasn't invited, maybe Gilbert had really forgotten about him. Now he really sympathised with Matthew.

Feliciano waved frantically yelling "Kiku!" over the loud music. Kiku nodded to Arthur before making his way over to Feliciano. At first, Arthur didn't really know what to do with himself. He just stood there, realising again that he really had no friends. Gilbert put an arm around him, Arthur scrunched up his nose as Gilbert reeked of alcohol.

"Hey buddy, why so sad? It's time to party!" he announced, pumping his fist in the air. Seeing Arthur's lack of enthusiasm to party, Gilbert removed his trench coat and chucked it on one of the sofas before grabbing a bottle of bear from the table. "Here, loosen up a bit. This is an awesome party so you should be having an awesome time!"

"Oh..No, I shouldn't-"

"Come on!" Gilbert shoved the beer into his hand. "I am here to see that all my guests are having an awesome time." he turned to his left "Hey, Feliks turn that music up!" he pumped another fist in the air. Feliks turned the music up before turning to dance with Toris.

Gilbert gave Arthur a firm pat on the back before joining Antonio and Francis again. Arthur was gutted that Alfred wasn't around. He even debated leaving there and then, since he had come to terms with the fact that the only reason he was at the party was so he could play about with Alfred. Arthur sighed at his pettiness and strolled into the kitchen to find a bottle opener, since he figured one beer couldn't hurt. He searched around for the bottle opener, opening up various cupboards and draws as he did so.

He saw someone approach out of the corner of his eye, and without moving his eyes he uttered "Hey, you haven't seen a bottle opener-" He stopped himself as he gazed up at the taller man. His red shirt clung perfectly to his chest and showed off his tanned and muscular arms. There was a hint of curiosity and surprise in his gorgeous baby blue eyes.

"Woah." Alfred mumbled as he got a beer bottle out of the fridge. "This is kinda like deja-vu." He chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows at Arthur.

"Except this is Gilbert's kitchen, not Matthew's." Arthur responded dryly. He watched as Alfred opened one of the kitchen draws and pulled out the bottle opener. Arthur rolled his eyes. Of course Alfred would find it on his first try, either that or he spent a lot of time round Gilbert's house.

Alfred opened his own bottle of beer and then held his hand out, gesturing for Arthur to hand him his beer. Arthur was half tempted to put his own hand in Alfred's and pull him in for a smooch. But instead he just handed him the beer.

"Maybe we should see how many of our classmate's kitchen's we can make out in." He winked at Arthur and opened the bottle of beer, the Brit froze in place. Was that even a real suggestion?

Remembering his little 'game', Arthur responded "No thanks, I've got better things to do with my evening." whilst crossing his arms.

Alfred couldn't help but be a little offended. Sure, he and Arthur insulted each other all the time, but Alfred thought that the two kisses they shared were _amazing_. Now he was doubting whether Arthur liked him at all. But he wasn't giving up "Then how about tomorrow? Me, you, Ivan's kitchen." He winked again, handing the beer back to Arthur.

Arthur was shocked at how forward Alfred was being, he laughed everything off like it was a joke but Arthur had the feeling that he meant this one. "Why Ivan's kitchen out of all the kitchen's on offer?" Arthur asked, baffled by his choice.

Alfred shrugged. "He probably has some good food in there."

Arthur sniggered "And you're still thinking about food, like always." Alfred opened his mouth to make a witty comeback, but he stopped as he heard Gilbert had an announcement.

"Okay everyone, get your asses here!" He shouted "And Feliks, turn the music down a sec." All of the party goers formed in front of Gilbert who was now stood on his coffee table. "In order to make this party more fun and awesome – if that's even possible! - I have decided that we will all play Seven Minutes in Heaven!" He pumped his fist towards the ceiling and a mixture of 'ooh's' and 'oh no's' filled the air. "This game is NOT optional, EVERYONE is playing. I don't care if you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Whatever happens, there is gonna be some sexy shit going down in that closet over there!" He pointed towards his closet under the stairs and made some hip thrusting movements.

Arthur smirked upon hearing the announcement, now if only he and Alfred could go in the closet together he could do whatever he wanted with him. Afterwards he would just explain that everything that happened 'was just part of the game', thus meaning he could resume his 'playing hard to get'. The only downside to the game was that seven minutes wasn't very long at all. Why couldn't the game be called twenty seven minutes in heaven?

All of the classmates sat around in a circle, Arthur was relieved to find that they were going to spin a bottle to choose the two people to go in to the closet. The tactical Brit thought that they might play games like this, and so he brought two extra strong magnets with him. He placed one in a beer bottle and causally handed it to Gilbert so that they could start the game. Arthur kept the other magnet in his pocket so that when it was Alfred's turn he could bring the magnet closer and the bottle would land on him. He had never tried anything like this before, so he just hoped that it would work!

"Listen up everyone, I'm explaining the rules! Once the two people have been chosen they will go in to the closet, we time seven minutes and while they're in the closet they can do WHATEVER they want! Also, whatever happens in the closet, stays in the closet – unless I ask then you GOTTA tell me, kay? Also everyone better do stuff, you'll be labelled as lame and not awesome if you don't do anything! Right, let's start this game!".

Arthur tapped his fingers on the carpet with anticipation as Gilbert span the bottle for his turn.

"Hi, Arthur." Arthur almost jumped at the sudden quiet voice.

"Matthew?" Arthur had no idea that Matthew was at this party, this could threaten to ruin his whole plan. He really _really_ wanted to mess about with Alfred, but now maybe he wouldn't be able to. Arthur snapped out of his thoughts as the bottle landed on Elizaveta. Gilbert grew bright red.

"Um..Oh..Okay then! Vash, start the timer for the seven minutes once we're in the closet. And Eliza, watch out, cause we are gonna do..._stuff_! 'Cause I am not a loser and I am awesome-" He pointed at Elizaveta who rolled her eyes, but his sentence was cut short as she dragged him into the closet.

Vash set the timer for seven minutes, as he was told. And then there was silence.

"So what the fuck are we supposed to do now?" Lovino asked.

"We could listen in." Francis suggested, gesturing towards the closet with a wink.

"That's just disgusting, you perverted frog." Arthur uttered, as he shot a bitter glare at Francis.

"Or we could party!" Alfred announced, trying his best to keep the Arthur and Francis bickering to a minimum.

So in the end, they went for Alfred's idea. They turned the music back on and began dancing and socialising. Arthur stayed close to Kiku, he watched Alfred dance from a distance, examining him closely to check that he wasn't staring at Katyusha's breasts as they jiggled. An alarm went off on the timer to signal that the seven minutes were up.

"So who will retrieve them from the closet?" Kiku asked. Each of the classmates looked at one another, who knows what the Prussian and the Hungarian could be doing in there.

"I'll do it." Antonio piped up, everyone in the room except Francis let out a sigh of relief. Antonio went over to the closet, he knocked. "Hey amigos, sorry but your time is up-" he opened the closet to find Elizaveta on Gilbert's lap. They both shot up with lightening speed.

"Told ya I would do stuff. Okay, who's next?" He approached his classmates, rubbing off the lipstick marks that covered his face. Elizaveta followed after him, her face bright red, she grew more embarrassed as everyone at the party had their eyes on her as she sat back down.

Arthur wasn't really paying attention to what was happening after that, he just eagerly awaited Alfred's turn. Kiku and Feliciano went into the closet next but neither of them would tell anyone whether they did anything or not while they were in there. When Arthur asked, Kiku promised that he'd tell him later. Toris and Feliks went in after that, Antonio opened the closet door after seven minutes to find Feliks straddling a very flustered Toris. Everyone became tired of partying for seven minutes then having to turn the music off and sit back down, so once Antonio and Lovino went in the closet everyone just stayed in there seats and socialised.

Arthur caught Alfred staring at him. His eyes were locked on him like the American was a gun and Arthur was the target. Feeling slightly uneasy, Arthur turned his attention to the Canadian sat next to him.

"Oh Matthew, that sweater looks adorable on you." Arthur stated, checking to see if Alfred was still looking from the corner of his eye – he was. Matthew flushed bright pink, and without thinking Arthur grabbed his hands. He checked on Alfred out of the corner of his eyes and saw him swiftly turn around to face Toris and Feliks. Arthur smirked, if this didn't make Alfred want him more, he didn't know what else would.

Just noticing that he was still grasping Matthew's hands tightly, he hastily uttered "Do my hands feel warm to you?" and let go before waiting for a reply.

"Um..Y-Yes." Matthew looked down at this hands_ 'Arthur just held my hands...'. _

Arthur glanced around the room for some sort of escape from the situation_. 'I'm such a twat.'_

Once the alarm went of, Toris let Lovino and Antonio out of the closet.

"We didn't do nothing, I swear." Lovino announced as he entered the room, Antonio chuckled as he followed behind him.

"Okay who's next? Ahh Miss Katyusha, it's your time to shine!" Gilbert exclaimed, urging her to spin the bottle. Arthur yawned, he was so bored. He perked up however once he noticed that Alfred was sat next to Katyusha – it was his turn next.

Katyusha span the bottle, round and round it went. Arthur's heart dropped. It stopped on Alfred.

Arthur felt a combination between jealously and betrayal flow through his body, how dare Alfred be allowed to go in the closet with anyone else but him! But Kat was a nice girl, surely they wouldn't do anything? But if he knew Alfred, which he was sure he did, they probably would at least kiss. Arthur felt angry just at the thought and purposely got up to get another beer as Alfred and Katyusha entered the closet. He was half tempted to sit outside the closet door and listen in, but even he wouldn't go as far as to do something like that – especially since Francis suggested it in the first place.

Matthew followed Arthur to the kitchen as he got a bottle of beer out of the fridge. He didn't know how well Matthew could read his expressions, but if he could then he would surely know about Arthur's feelings for Alfred by now.

But apparently Arthur was wrong. Matthew gently placed his hand on top of Arthur's which was resting on the kitchen counter, Arthur froze _'What is it with kitchens and romance? The two really shouldn't go together.' _Arthur left his hand there for a moment, worried that if he pulled away too fast Matthew would be offended. After said moment, Arthur casually removed his hand to scratch his head.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Arthur asked, forcing a smile onto his face.

"It's been okay. I don't like playing this game though." Arthur took a sip of his beer but nodded at Matthew to show he was listening. He noticed Matthew's cheeks shade a soft pink "Gilbert says that we have to do stuff, but I only want to do stuff with the person I like.." Arthur flinched, he was sure that if he had a can of beer instead of a bottle, he would've accidentally crushed it.

What on earth was he doing? This was so wrong, he had to tell Matthew his true feelings right now. It wasn't fair to make him wait any longer. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of the alarm.

"Oh look, we've got to get back to the game.' Arthur uttered so hastily that he wasn't even sure if his words came out right, he rushed back into the room and went back to his position on the floor. He didn't even want to look at Alfred and Katyusha as they got out of the closet.

"So who is next? Oh Al? Hmm but you've just been...maybe we should let someone else-"

"I think he's entitled to his own turn." Arthur interrupted, without thinking. Alfred was puzzled, he felt disappointed. Maybe Arthur really didn't feel anything for him in a romantic way since Alfred knew he'd hate it if Arthur went into the closet with someone that wasn't him.

"I suppose you're right Iggy, kay then Al, spin away!" Gilbert smacked Alfred on the back.

Alfred gave the bottle a hard spin, so it spun around really fast. Arthur waited a few spins before getting his magnet out, just so no one would find out that he was cheating. Just as planned, the bottle came to a stop on him. He smirked – _'Perfect.'_

For a moment Arthur forgot to act surprised, once he realised he shook his head. "Alright, let's get this over and done with."

Alfred frowned. Being alone with Arthur for seven minutes in the closet was going to be awkward now.

The Brit and the American both stepped in the closet, Antonio closed the door (He was practically the 'door man') he uttered "Okay amigos, you've got seven minutes..have fun." he winked before closing the door.

The closet was a lot darker than he had anticipated, he couldn't see a thing. He heard Alfred sit on the floor and so he joined him. There was a moment of silence.

Arthur cleared his throat. "You know, if we do anything it's only because it's part of the game and-" he was cut short as Alfred grabbed his cheeks and pulled him in for a hasty kiss.

Alfred's kiss was rushed and hungry as he pried Arthur's mouth open with his tongue without warning. Getting into the kiss, Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck. He moaned as it got more steamy and passionate by every caress of their tongues. Alfred broke away and furiously tried to unbutton Arthur's shirt, the Brit became frustrated with all of the _not kissing _and so he pushed Alfred down onto the floor. He sucked on Alfred's neck and nibbled on his ear, he earned some breathy moans from the American - who was still trying to unbutton his classmate's shirt. Arthur sat up and pulled his shirt apart so that all of the buttons came undone in one quick motion, Alfred frowned at the fact that he couldn't see Arthur's slim chest but he decided feeling was the next best thing. He sat up and started caressing the Brit's nipple with his tongue, Arthur had to hold his hand over his mouth in the fear that he would moan too loudly and everyone outside would hear. Alfred worked his way up Arthur's neck and gave him another hot kiss, causing Arthur to wrap his legs around him tightly. He ran his hands through Alfred's hair before being hungrily pushed down to the floor. Alfred hastily took off his own shirt and Arthur traced his fingers down Alfred's chest, feeling the nicely toned abs that he had dreamt about touching. Arthur moaned as Alfred kissed and sucked on his neck, shivering at every light touch of Alfred's lips on his body. He hastily covered his mouth.

"Shit." he whispered, his desire peaking.

"What..are you so worried about?" Alfred asked, breathless from the steamy make out session.

"Everyone hearing-" He replied, but was cut off by his own moan as Alfred rubbed his growing bulge.

Alfred smirked, he unbuttoned Arthur's jeans and slipped his hand down his underwear, there wouldn't be enough time to remove them, unfortunately. He began jerking off Arthur's already erect member, Arthur had to cover his mouth with both of his hands this time as he felt overwhelming pleasure flow throughout his body.

"Stop..What're you..ohhh..Alfred no!" He moaned as Alfred pumped faster. Arthur pulled Alfred in for a rough kiss, their naked torsos touching together. "Alfred..I'm gonna.." Alfred picked up the pace at his words, he didn't want Arthur to get blue balls if the alarm went off and he hadn't finished. He traced his tongue down Arthur's neck and down his chest, he sucked on his nipple again before Arthur cried out in pleasure. Arthur felt the warm liquid squirt onto his chest as he lay there, trying to catch his breath. Alfred kissed his classmate on the cheek before hastily putting on his own shirt.

"Oh god.." Arthur touched the sticky substance that was all over his chest "You...don't happen to have a napkin...do you?" he asked, still breathless. Alfred felt around for something and came across some sort of item of clothing hung up, he pulled it down and handed it to Arthur who used it to rub the liquid off of his chest.

"Eh. I'm sure he won't mind." Arthur chuckled as he put on his shirt and buttoned it up. The two classmates jumped at the sound of the alarm. "Gahh! Quick, get into position!" he snorted, laying on the floor and pretending to snore.

Antonio opened the door and he noticed that Arthur's jeans were undone. "You're flying low." he mouthed, watching Arthur zip and button up his jeans faster than he'd ever seen anyone do before. Arthur nodded appreciatively at Antonio.

"Huh..what? Seven minutes gone already? Wow, time sure flies when you're taking a nap." Alfred stretched his arms and legs before getting up and heading out of the closet. Arthur noticed that Alfred had his shirt on backwards, but he decided not to say anything. The two classmates walked back and rejoined the group, no one made a sound, all eyes were on them.

The silence was broken by the sound of Gilbert laughing. "You guys like to party!" He exclaimed, slapping his thigh. The whole group started cheering, Arthur and Alfred were extremely puzzled. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Gilbert went over to them and but his arms around their shoulders "These guys right here, have got balls. _That _is how you play seven minutes in heaven, everyone should learn from these two!"

Alfred and Arthur's faces dropped as they realised that everyone must've heard everything. Arthur was so embarrassed, he went as red as a tomato. Alfred on the other hand was more upset that his 'sleeping' act was pointless since everyone already knew what had happened.

Arthur sat down next to Kiku "Oh god, was it _that_ bad?" Arthur covered his face in shame.

"It was pretty loud. But it doesn't matter, these sort of things happen at parties don't they." Kiku gave Arthur a sympathy pat on the shoulder.

Francis sat on the other side of Arthur "I think I've totally misjudged you all of these years, mon ami. We have much more in common than I originally thought." He winked at Arthur, who shuffled away from his French classmate.

"I'll have you know that I am _nothing_ like you! Thank god, because I wouldn't be able to stand being you." Francis laughed before going over to Antonio, he began grilling him to find out if he saw anything when he opened the closet door.

Arthur sighed wistfully. He was half tempted to ask _'Can me and Alfred have another turn?' _as he sure would have liked to return the favour.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Gilbert can sure throw one heck of a party ;) Seven Minutes in Heaven is a classic game, I just couldn't not include it! The party was originally only meant to last this chapter, but it go too long so I had to carry it over into chapter 10! So be sure to look forward to the interesting developments that happen next at Gilbert's house ;D Oh and Arthur reads an extract from Charlies Dickens 'Great Expectations' - I don't own it of course. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:**

So here it is! Good ol' chapter 10. Thanks for all of the reviews and favs and messages, I really appreciate them! :D And so, the party continues. Enjoy!

* * *

Arthur sighed. He and Alfred hadn't had anytime to chat, not that he would've had anything to say after what happened in the closet. It was amazing, better than he'd hoped for, better than any fantasy. If it weren't for Matthew being involved, Arthur would insist on Alfred being his boyfriend _right now. _He was pretty sure now that Alfred did like him, but maybe he always knew. Maybe he liked playing with him a little. With the thought of Matthew in mind, Arthur scanned the room for him - no luck. But Matthew was hard to find so he had another look – still no Matthew. Arthur suddenly felt guilty, what if Matthew had left the party upon hearing his pleasured moans from inside the closet?

As Gilbert told everyone to take a break from the game, Arthur went upstairs to look for Matthew as there was a chance that he was still around. He was having no luck so far, he checked the room to the right of the staircase. It looked like it was the guest room as the walls were a plain white and all of the furniture was made out of simple oak wood. And there he saw Matthew, sat on the floor leaning against the bed.

Matthew turned around as he heard someone enter and watched as his classmate sat down beside him.

"Hi Matt, I've been looking for you. Are you alright?" Arthur asked, his voice soft. Matthew saw concern in his facial expression and so quickly nodded.

"Yes..The party was just getting a bit too much for me. I decided to come up here so I could be alone." seeing Arthur furrow his brow, he added "I don't mind you being here with me though."

Arthur nodded. It was still unclear whether Matthew had heard anything. Arthur sighed as he leaned his head on the side of the bed.

"It's quite hot down there too. I suppose I could stay here for a bit to cool down." He stretched his arms out in front of him before turning to Matthew. "So have you enjoyed playing Gilbert's game? Personally, I think it was a ridiculous suggestion." He lied.

"Well...I still haven't had my turn yet." Matthew bit his lip, he stared into Arthur's eyes for a moment which made the Brit feel uneasy. "I would hate to have to go in to the closet with someone..that I didn't like. Gilbert also said that we had to do things in there-"

"Well I don't think he really cares that much. If you don't want to do anything you don't have to." Arthur interrupted, he was worried that his words were too hasty.

"Even so..I wouldn't mind if I was in the closet with someone like you..." Matthew looked down at this lap, he cheeks growing warm. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it as he couldn't think of anything to say. "Arthur..could you tell me..what exactly is going on between you and Alfred?"

Arthur froze. He heart thumping hard in his chest, he was anxious that even Matthew would be able to hear it. There was a moment of silence. Arthur put together what he was going to say in his head, and opened his mouth to speak.

He stopped as he heard a familiar voice.

"Kay Gil, so the party poppers are in the guest room?" Arthur and Matthew heard footsteps come up the stairs.

"Oh no, it's Alfred!" Arthur panicked, he wasn't ready to face him yet. "Don't tell him I'm here, I'll answer your question later." He didn't wait for Matthew's reply before hiding in the wardrobe, he slid the door shut but left a tiny gap so he could view the happenings.

Alfred entered the guest room and saw Matthew sat on the floor, still frozen in place. He closed the door behind him, a worried look spread onto Matthew's face.

"Oh Mattie, didn't know you were here." Alfred sat down next to him. Matthew couldn't form any words and so he just nodded in response. "You been having a good time?" Matthew gave Alfred another nod. "Your face looks really warm, no wonder you came up here, it's boiling downstairs." He stroked Matthew's cheek with the back of his hand.

_'This is the perfect opportunity.'_

Alfred moved his hand to Matthew's chin and pulled him in for a soft kiss. The kiss only lasted for a moment as Matthew was being fairly unresponsive with it. Alfred pulled away, knowing that he had made a bad decision.

Arthur was fuming. After all that had happened in the closet, and Alfred practically jumped straight onto Matthew. Had everything meant nothing to him? Was he really just the type to jump from person to person? Arthur sensed that he was being hypocritical, but he was too angry to care.

"Man..I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little tipsy." Alfred scratched the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed. He got up and opened the draw next to the bed to grab the party poppers. "See ya later." He mumbled, before making a hasty exit.

Arthur got out of the wardrobe, straightening out his shirt as he did so. "Alright. Should we go back down to the party?" he asked, expressionless. He held out his hand for Matthew, smirking to himself.

Matthew wasn't sure if Arthur was aware of what had just happened, but he was no idiot. He figured that Arthur would be jealous – and that could only mean good things for him. Matthew nodded before taking Arthur's hand, Arthur pulled him up and held onto his hand as they went down the stairs.

Arthur looked left and right, he saw Alfred in the kitchen with Kiku. He grinned,he would be able to position himself as if he had never been upstairs in the first place. Arthur led Matthew over to the wall to the left of the kitchen, purposely in view of Alfred.

"Wait here a second." Arthur ruffled Matthew's hair and gave him a wink. Matthew became flustered but managed to nod. The Brit made his way into the kitchen, he grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

"Oh Artie, can we-"

"Sorry, no time to talk. Matthew is waiting for me." He spoke clearly and confidently as he opened the bottle with the bottle opener. He took a large gulp of the drink before rubbing his mouth and making his way back to Matthew. He knew he was already a little drunk, but maybe that was for the best. Alfred looked puzzled, curious as to why Arthur was giving him the cold shoulder. He looked at Kiku who averted his gaze as he sipped his drink. Alfred decided he'd keep an eye on Arthur, but _only_ because he didn't want him to get out of hand as there was a likely chance that'd he'd become pissed at any moment.

"I have returned." Arthur approached Matthew, placing his hand on the wall that Matthew was leaning against. Matthew's cheek appeared to be permanently red as he fidgeted in place. Arthur smirked at Matthew as he leaned in close, mischief lurked in his eyes. Matthew didn't know whether to feel terrified or aroused, in the end it was a bit of both.

Arthur wasn't sure if he'd be able to go through with this. He wasn't completely off his face just yet, so he began doubting himself.

Before Arthur could move away in doubt, Matthew placed his hands on his shoulders and pulled Arthur's lips onto his own. This was unlike Matthew, either he had been drinking too or he _really_ liked Arthur.

Alfred watched closely. If Arthur didn't kiss back then he knew that Arthur must have feelings for him. But to his dismay, Arthur titled Matthew's head with his hand as he got into the kiss.

Matthew clearly lacked kissing experience so Arthur took control of the kiss. He daren't put his tongue into Matthew mouth, even after Matthew sneakily brushed his own tongue against Arthur's bottom lip. Alfred stood there in shock for a few moments, he couldn't look away. So Matthew would kiss Arthur but not him? Alfred's eyes grew wide in realisation _'Shit..maybe they really are a couple.' _It was the most logical answer. Arthur must have only done things in the closet for the sake of the game, and nothing more.

Arthur continued kissing Matthew, whose arms looped around his neck, but then pulled away. His heart just wasn't in the kiss. He averted his gaze from Matthew and quickly surveyed the room for Alfred. He wasn't there, Arthur just hoped that he had seen. He hoped that it had made him as jealous as he felt when he saw Alfred kiss Matthew in the guest room. Arthur quickly felt guilty, he shuffled away from Matthew to create space between them. Arthur met Matthew's gaze, his face was beaming, which only made him feel more guilty.

"Okay guys, gather round for the next game." Gilbert announced, giving Arthur the opportunity to flee from Matthew's side. "So we're going play spin the bottle, but it looks like someone was cheating before." Gilbert tipped the magnet from the bottle onto his hand and held it up for all to see. Arthur gulped. "And there is only one person that it could be..." Gilbert pointed across the room and Arthur began to sweat.

"Eliza!" Gilbert stated, stopping his finger on her.

"What? Why me?" Elizaveta objected.

"Well you obviously have the hots for me, but why wouldn't you? I am awesome-"

"In your dreams." Elizaveta interrupted, crossing her arms and facing away from Gilbert.

"Sure, whatever babe." Gilbert snorted before continuing his announcement. "Anyways, we're gonna be using my spin the bottle app this time to avoid any more of Eliza's cheating." Elizaveta rolled her eyes at the mention of her name. Gilbert chugged down the beer in his hand "This is gonna be awesome,so let's begin!"

Arthur volunteered to go first as he saw Alfred sit down opposite him. He placed his finger on the smartphone and brushed it in a circle. The bottle span around really fast – unnaturally fast, until it stopped on the space between Alfred and Toris. Gilbert cursed under his breath.

"Told you this app was a bad idea." Feliks stated, Gilbert peered in close to the screen and darted his eyes towards Alfred and Toris.

"Hey it's no biggie, the bottle is definitely closer to Toris anyways." Gilbert shrugged.

"What are you talking about? The bottle is clearly shown as closer to Alfred." Feliks clicked his fingers and pointed to Alfred, he gained a glare from Gilbert.

"No it's not, and I think I would know because I am the awesomest."

"If I may, I have to agree with Feliks on this one." Arthur nodded at Feliks. Gilbert shrugged again.

"Yeah well whatever, I just wanna start this game. Okay, so Arthur and Alfred, smooch it up!" Gilbert made kissing noises before moving out of the way.

Arthur thought it was clear that Gilbert was right, the bottle did point closer in the direction of Toris. But would Arthur rather kiss Alfred than Toris? - _Hell_ _yes_. Arthur tried his best to look displeased, he didn't know if he was fooling anyone but hopefully he'd at least fool Alfred.

He shuffled over to Alfred on his knees, but quickly became anxious that he looked too eager. He blocked out everyone in the room so it was as if it were just himself and Alfred. Leaning in, he closed his eyes. A moment later he felt Alfred give him a light kiss on the cheek. His heart sank. He quickly retreated back to his seat on the floor, not uttering a word.

"Wh-What was that?" Gilbert exclaimed, he then chuckled whilst bringing his hands together. "Lame..But I guess you're allowed to do that after earlier.." He winked at Arthur whose head was facing the floor.

Arthur didn't understand, was Alfred nervous? He couldn't be. He was now beginning to doubt whether playing 'hard to get' was actually working, and whether it had been a very good idea in the first place.

He glanced at Matthew who was sat beside him, and then to the American opposite him. _It couldn't be. _Arthur refused to believe that Alfred had liked their Canadian classmate this whole time and not him. Sure, it had always been a possibility, but he had dismissed that idea weeks ago. The guest room kiss was recent evidence, but he quickly disregarded it after reminding himself of the closet happenings. But did this mean that there was a chance that Alfred had only done what he did in the closet for the sake of the game and _nothing_ more?

Arthur couldn't stand all of the ideas buzzing around in his head any longer. As Elizaveta and Katyusha were about to kiss, Arthur got up and stepped his way over the crowd of people sat on the floor. He crouched down next to Alfred.

"Can I speak to you a second." He whispered, he heard his words slurring slightly but he insisted to himself that he was fine. He was convinced that he was sober enough not to do anything irrational. Alfred sighed and reluctantly got up from the floor. Arthur dragged him over to the stairs.

"What is it?" Alfred crossed his arms, his gaze averted to his right.

Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but then realised that he hadn't actually thought of anything rational to say. What was he going to speak about? 'I was just wondering why you didn't snog me earlier'? That would be ridiculous.

"Why weren't you playing the game properly?" Even as he said it, he knew it sounded strange. Alfred raised his eyebrow. "Did I do something?" his tone of voice turned sour, Alfred looked down at his feet.

"Look" He looked up at the shaggy blonde and began rubbing the back of his neck. "I understand if you don't mind playing games and stuff...But like..I don't feel comfortable doing stuff knowing you have.." He averted his gaze to the floor again, Arthur locked his emerald eyes onto Alfred, feeling very intrigued. "A boyfriend..sorry.." He trailed off.

Arthur was taken aback. He was puzzled, what boyfriend? But that's when it clicked. Alfred thought Matthew was his boyfriend.

Arthur chuckled, causing Alfred to meet his gaze.

"Oh Alfred. Dear, dear Alfred." Arthur smirked, Alfred hated the patronising tone in his voice. Arthur was about to admit that Matthew wasn't actually his boyfriend, but then he decided against it. He felt the overwhelming power flow through his body once again as he noticed that Alfred did look quite upset about the whole idea that Arthur wasn't single.

Of course, Alfred would have really liked to kiss Arthur, but he wasn't about to do that to Matthew. He figured he would apologise to Matthew later, saying that he didn't realise that he was in a relationship. Alfred wasn't a jerk, even though he had these urges to kiss and touch Arthur all over, he knew he would just have to restrain them. Not wanting to look at the perfect figure of the man in front of him any longer, Alfred retreated back to the living room.

He hated it when he wanted something that he couldn't have.

Matthew watched as the American returned to his seat on the floor, the Brit soon followed behind him. There was definitely something going on between Alfred and Arthur. Part of him didn't want to know what is was, it's not like it was any of his business in the first place. But maybe he already knew what was going on, maybe he just pretended not to notice. If Alfred did really like him he would be flattered, but he just couldn't bring himself to feel that way about his classmate. He also noticed that Alfred showed feelings towards Arthur, which confused him. Matthew knew full well that he was infatuated with his British classmate, and so he would have to make it clear to Alfred that he was not interested in him. And, while he was at it, he could make Arthur sure that he was not interested in Alfred either.

Matthew stopped his thoughts with a shake of his head. What was he thinking? He still cared for Alfred as a friend, and he wouldn't want to make him purposely jealous – even though it would probably end up happening anyway since it was pretty obvious that Alfred liked at least one of the two of them. It was also up to Arthur who he really liked, even though Matthew wished that it could be him he knew there was a strong chance that it wasn't him.

There was a possibility that Matthew had consumed more alcohol than he had intended, but there was also a possibility that he was drunk on something else.

"Hey." Matthew jumped as he turned his head to find Arthur crouching beside him.

Alfred watched from across the room. Arthur whispered something into Matthew's ear, he nodded, and they both got up. Arthur took Matthew by the hand, which made Alfred's eyebrow twitch.

"We're gonna head home now." Arthur stated, purposely not loud enough – he didn't want to be rude, but part of him also didn't want other people to think that he and Matthew were in a relationship.

Alfred held his breath as waved goodbye. Matthew smiled gently and waved back, but Arthur turned away and began dragging Matthew to the front door.

As soon as they grabbed their coats and left, Alfred let out a long sigh. He sipped his beer, not fully paying attention to the game that was still going down in front of him. Alfred didn't understand Arthur _at all_. He was gutted that the two people he liked were dating each other, but why was Arthur being so bitter? Well – more bitter than usual. He had no reason to be angry with him, as far as he knew he hadn't done anything to upset him. He rubbed his face, barely noticing Kiku shuffle in besides him. He didn't speak a word, which Alfred was thankful for – he had a lot on his mind.

Kiku watched as Alfred let out a small gasp.

"What if.." He mumbled during his train of thought. He darted his eyes to his left, now fully realising that he had company. He cleared his throat. "What if..I go and get another beer?" he forced a grin at Kiku, who raised his eyebrow. "Uhh..do you want me..to get you one?" he nervously laughed as Kiku shook his head. "Okay,BRB." Alfred shot up and speed walked over to the kitchen.

He let out another sigh. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on his thoughts as long as he was at this party, but maybe that was a good thing - after all he did _love_ to party. He clenched his fist and grinned to himself. A little spin the bottle, dancing and beer and Alfred was sure to forget his worries.

* * *

His theory didn't work as well as he thought it was going to. Alfred continued playing spin the bottle but became reluctant to kiss anyone, so he eventually just sat on the sofa and watched TV. Gilbert was not pleased and told him to go home if he wanted to do that. So he did.

Alfred glanced at the time on his phone. It wasn't even late, everyone would probably still be at Gilbert's house. '_Except Artie and Matt'_. Alfred felt his tummy flip as his mind wandered onto the topic of his two crushes. He began to feel guilty as he remembered a theory he had come up with earlier at Gilbert's party. _'What if Arthur saw me kiss Matthew...what if he's mad because I forced Matthew to cheat on him?' _

Alfred grew nervous just at the thought, he got off of his sofa and began pacing around his living room. This was _bad. _The last time he had made Arthur really mad he cursed him. Of course Alfred didn't believe in curses and witch craft at first, but that was before all of the _bad_ _things_ started happening to him. Alfred shivered _'No! I refuse to go through that again!'. _

Alfred glanced at his mobile phone which rested on the arm of his sofa. He slowly walked over to it, and snatched it up. He dialled Arthur's number and called him. Alfred bounced up and down on his heels mumbling _'pick up, pick up!'._

"_**Hello?"**_ He heard that familiar crisp British accent come from the other line.

"Hey, Artie- uh Arthur. My good companion...I..Uhh-"

"_**Spit it out. What do you want?" **_Alfred sighed as he heard the, all too common, bitterness in his voice.

"I...I need to talk to you."

"_**Again? Now I'm beginning to think that you're obsessed with me." **_Alfred heard Arthur snigger. He nervously laughed along but stopped as he began to wonder if he actually had become obsessed with his classmate.

"Well..I just, I really need to ask you something." Arthur sighed. "It's important, and you'll be lifting a weight off of my shoulders if you-"

"_**Out with it then." **_Arthur sounded impatient.

"Okay so...uhh..." Alfred scuffed his trainers on the floor.

"_**Well?"**_

"Well.." he continued his nervous laughter as he scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "It feels kinda weird talking over the phone.." Alfred was sure that Arthur would have rolled his eyes if he could see his face.

"_**Are you implying that we should meet up?"**_

"Sure..if you want to, I mean." he felt nervous, it felt as if he was actually asking Arthur out on a date.

"_**By the lack of booming pop music, I'm guessing you left the party. Strange, it's a little early isn't it?" **_Alfred couldn't help but notice a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Yeah, it was getting boring without you." he knew that his choice of words sounded dodgy, but he was curious as to how Arthur would react. He grinned as the phone went silent, he imagined the Brit's cheeks growing bright red at his comment. Arthur cleared his throat as he regained his professional demeanour.

"_**Well, as much as I'd love to come all the way to your house to have you ask me a question, I think I'll pass."**_ Alfred frowned at his sarcasm, even though he had been expecting that answer.

"Haha yeah..It was a stupid suggestion. Plus, it is late-ish." Alfred made his way over to his sofa and sat down. "You and Mattie ought to be getting to bed, right?" he relaxed his eyes shut and smirked as the phone went silent again.

"_**Actually, Matthew is already asleep. He is curled up against me as we speak."**_ Alfred froze, his eyes springing open. **_"Adorable, isn't he?"_** Alfred almost heard Arthur smirking through the phone, he bit his lip. _'Oh shit, oh shit! He knows!'_

"I guess so." Alfred tried to speak as confidently as possible. He paused as he decided to choose his next words carefully. "You're cuter though." He heard the tiniest gasp through the phone. He figured, since Arthur was already going to wreck his shit after seeing what happened in the guest room, he might as well tease him a bit. Arthur chuckled after a moment, but it sounded fake. He heard his classmate sip what he guessed was a cup of tea.

"_**Flattery will get you nowhere, Alfred. What exactly is it that you want from me?"**_

_'A cuddle, a kiss. No, just your company would do me fine.'_

"S-E-X." Alfred seductively whispered into the phone.

Those letters, he presumed, had caused Arthur to do a kind of spit-take as the only answer he received was a load of coughing and spluttering.

"_**P-Pardon?" **_Arthur spoke in a loud whisper, his voice wavering.

Alfred hung up. He tossed his phone onto the sofa and led down beside it. He chuckled. Now at least he wouldn't be the only one with something on his mind.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note:**

So here's the next chapter! I know there's been a delay with this one, but that's because I originally wrote this chapter and it went way over 7,000 words and I figured that was too long for one chapter. So I split it off like I did with the past two chapters and so you should expect to see chapter 12 pretty soon as all I have to do is proof read it. So anyway, enjoy! :D

* * *

The bright sun shining through the gaps in the trees made the leaves look vibrant and healthy. The familiar surroundings of the secret spot made Arthur feel content and safe. He perked up as he saw a silhouetted blur of a person approaching from the distance, he fixed his tie and straightened out his school blazer before standing up from his position on the soft grass.

The sun was so bright it was hard to see anything ahead, Arthur shielded his eyes from the harsh rays using his hand as he tried to make out the person in the distance. The shape didn't seem to grow larger, were his eyes just playing tricks on him? He wasn't so lonely that he had started creating an imaginary person in the distance, surely? He watched as the blur began to take a detour to the wheat field on his left. The Brit was curious, and so cautiously followed behind.

He first walked at a normal pace, not wanting to frighten what he presumed was a student, but then picked up the pace as he didn't seem to be getting any closer. A few moments later, blonde hair came into view – but this wasn't very helpful information, just how many students at this school had blonde hair? He then saw the figure turn around, the sun reflected off of his glasses which caused Arthur to wince and once again shield his eyes. The figure stared for a moment, before turning back around and quickening his pace. '_Alfred, that must be Alfred.'_

With this thought in mind, Arthur quickened his pace. The student noticed, and quickened his pace to assure that Arthur wouldn't be catching up to him anytime soon. It was like an old game of tag back at Elementary school, Arthur just wasn't fast enough to catch this man. A wave of memories came over him as he remembered the times that he had played tag with Alfred and Francis when he was little. He was never fast enough to catch them, so he'd usually end up throwing a strop and refuse to continue the game until he wasn't 'it'. He wasn't going to lose this time, Arthur was determined to catch Alfred.

Arthur was now jogging towards the student who started to run as Arthur was approaching more rapidly._ 'You're not going to get away that easily!' _Arthur ran but the figure was much too fast.

The shaggy blonde looked left and right. He had lost him. More than that, now _he_ was lost. He scratched his head, not recognising his surroundings at all. He was sure that he knew all of these areas around the school inside and out, but he didn't recognise this yellow rapeseed field. It reminded him of the fields in his home country of England, he enjoyed visiting his grandmother when he was younger and she lived near a field much like this one. He reminisced of the blue skies and fluffy white clouds with the sun than shone perfectly on the golden yellows of the field. Oh god, how he missed England. His fond memories were interrupted as he heard a rustling coming from the juniper berry bushes to his left.

Arthur cautiously crept over, feeling the most stealthiest he had felt in ages, before pulling apart the bushes. There was no one there. But he noticed a small pathway, large trees arched over it and so there was no sign of light or warmth seeping in from above. He stepped through the bushes, ridding himself of the spiky leaves and blue berries that had attached themselves to him on his way through. He saw Alfred, standing but a few feet away.

"Alfred! Finally I've caught you." Arthur felt slightly out of breath, he began walking forwards but then stopped as a wisp of cool wind shot right through him. He shivered as he watched the trees rustle and whisper among themselves. All of a sudden the sky went black as all of the leaves and trees withered and died. All sounds went dead. Arthur reached his hand out to touch Alfred in a panic, he latched onto his shoulder and turned him around.

He stared at his classmate. Surely he hadn't mistaken the American for his other classmate this whole time?

"Matthew?" Arthur whispered, gasping for breath as if all oxygen had just been pulled out of his body. He held his hand to his mouth as he watched twinkling tears flow down Matthew's face. Arthur took a deep breath in and hesitantly took his other hand off of his classmate's shoulder.

"W-Who made you cry?" He whispered, scared of what the answer might be.

"You."

Arthur's cheeks burned red, his body filled with anger. Had it really taken him until now to realise how upset Matthew would be if he found out about his little game with Alfred?

"I was going to stop.." He trailed off, averting his gaze from Matthew. He couldn't stand to see such a sweet guy cry. "I promise, I will make it up to you. Mark my words." He bent down on one knee and placed his hand over his heart to show his sincerity.

"Save it." Matthew stated coldly. Suddenly the ground started rumbling, it cracked beneath his feet. Gravity pulled chunks of ground downwards into a black pit, Arthur had no where to run as the force got stronger. Matthew waved goodbye as he watched Arthur fall.

_Down down down into eternal nothingness._

Arthur jumped, causing him to hit his head on his bed post. His ears were ringing and his heart was beating fast and hard in his chest. He tried to catch his breath as he rubbed his forehead. _'That dream again, hmm?'._

* * *

Kiku tapped his fingers on the table as he watched the clock tick to quarter past nine. Suddenly the classroom door swung open. He eyed up his British classmate, huffing and puffing in the doorway. His hair was more shaggy than usual, dark circles were smeared under his eyes and to top it off, he had his shirt on inside out. Kiku sighed as he watched Arthur stumble into the classroom and clumsily sit next to him mumbling _'Sorry I'm late'_.

Kiku noticed that Arthur hadn't been working all lesson, and so raised his hand for the teacher.

"Excuse me, Arthur-san is feeling ill so may I escort him to the nurse's office?" he asked politely. The teacher nodded and Kiku ushered for Arthur to follow him out of the door.

Kiku closed the door behind him and stared at Arthur for a moment. "I'm afraid I have to ask. Have you been drinking?" Arthur gave a 'tch' sound before letting out a long sigh.

"Of course I haven't, I'm not that French bastard. I've just been a bit sleep deprived lately." Kiku raised his eyebrow to Arthur "Not like that! God, I wish that were the case. The truth is, I've been having some strange reoccurring dreams." Arthur cracked his neck and stretched his arms out as they continued walking down the corridor.

"What did they involve? I could help you decipher them if you like."

"I think the meaning is pretty obvious." Kiku watched as a look of discomfort spread onto Arthur's face, he noted that Arthur had avoided eye contact with him since the conversation began.

"It involves Alfred and Matthew, doesn't it." Kiku stated calmly with a sigh. Arthur nodded in response. A flush of embarrassment came over him as he thought about how Kiku must've noticed and seen everything that happened at Gilbert's party. He almost froze in place and watched his legs become cardboard as he remembered that Kiku had been standing right next to Alfred, in the kitchen, when he had decided to kiss Matthew. What on earth had he been thinking? He was surprised that Kiku actually wanted to continue talking to him, especially after watching him make a complete ass of himself.

Kiku watched Arthur's awkward limbs and his expression that was now a cross between embarrassed and worried. "We better hurry to the nurse's office." he muttered.

The two classmates turned left past the water fountain until they reached the collection of teacher's offices. They walked further down the corridor to the Nurse's office and Kiku peered in though the window but the nurse seemed to be seeing someone so they took the seats just outside the door.

"I'll be fine you know. I appreciate you trying to be a good friend but we may as well go back to class." Arthur forced a smile to Kiku.

"Well, to be honest with you, I only said that so we could get out of the classroom and have a chat. You also look like you could use some aspirin."

Kiku couldn't have been more spot on, Arthur's head was killing him. He figured that it was because of a combination of tiredness and over-thinking. He nodded to Kiku appreciatively.

"So, would you like to talk about your dream and how it made you feel?" Kiku placed his forefinger and thumb onto his chin and was half tempted to grab his notepad from his bag and take notes like a real psychiatrist.

Arthur grew rigid as he rubbed his hand over the black leather of the armchair. "No thanks. I'm fine." He glanced at Kiku who already had an eyebrow raised "Really, I am. We can just wait to get some aspirin and then go back to class." he added as Kiku nodded.

Arthur had always had problems with conveying his feelings. He didn't like to talk to people about them, he preferred to bottle them up. Sure, every now and again he exploded into little bursts of anger which wasn't great, but at least he wasn't a drama queen like Francis. Arthur supposed this was the one thing that he and Alfred had in common. He had noticed that Alfred wasn't very good at conveying his real feelings, but instead of covering them up with anger he would cover them up with a grin or a joke. This was why, at times, Alfred could be _very_ hard to read.

Arthur was so deep into his thoughts that he hardly noticed the nurse's office door swing open.

"A-Arthur?" Arthur's eyes followed the direction of the small voice until he fixed his eyes on Matthew, standing in the doorway. Arthur was suddenly reminded of his strange dream and so furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth slightly as if to speak, but no words came out. Kiku nodded to Matthew before they traded places, Matthew took his place in the seat next to Arthur whilst Kiku went to get some aspirin from the nurse.

"Hello." Arthur's voice cracked. There was an awkward silence between them for a moment. Matthew took this opportunity to remove his glasses and clean them using the bottom of his shirt. Arthur watched as he did this. Matthew was completely adorable, so why didn't he feel for him? He was so flattered that someone like Matthew felt so strongly about him, which was why it made him sad that he didn't like Matthew at all in that way. Why did he have to have feelings for that American oaf?

"Umm..Arthur?" The Brit snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing his name. He saw Matthew blush and look down at his shoes, which is when he realised he must have been staring at the Canadian the whole time without realising.

"Excuse me." Arthur took a deep breath and then collected himself before standing up out of the chair. He smiled at Matthew before heading to the bathroom.

He went to the toilet even though he didn't need it – he just wanted to get away from Matthew and the uncomfortable atmosphere. He then washed his hands in the sink, assuring to use soap (he wasn't a full out clean freak but he did like hygiene). He glared at his reflection in the mirror and furrowed his brow. He didn't understand how Kiku could be so polite, he really did look _awful_. Now he knew why Kiku had asked if he had been drinking, it looked as though he had just woken up after a night of heavy partying. Arthur straightened out his tie, but then noticed something sticking out of his shirt, he glanced down at himself and then realised that he had his shirt on inside out. He sighed and began taking off his tie. He really hadn't been thinking this morning, he woke up very late, threw on his clothes and pretty much ran straight out the door. He was pretty sure that no one else was in the bathroom right now, and since classes were still going on he was almost certain no one would be entering, so he unbuttoned his shirt.

It was safe to say that Arthur felt mildly uncomfortable about his body; he always tried his best to get changed as quickly as possible during PE (This also gave him time to have a sneaky look at Alfred once he got ready). His chest wasn't the most muscled or defined but he was certainly not fat in any way. He believed there was a time and a place to be shirtless, that was all. Arthur slipped off his shirt and began pulling the sleeve back through until the door suddenly opened.

Arthur froze as he saw Matthew take a few steps into the bathroom, his eyes darted to Arthur and then he too froze. The Brit watched as his mouth grew agape slightly and his cheeks flushed bright red.

"Uhmm.." Was all Arthur could seem to form as Matthew continued to stare. _'Quick, put your shirt back on you twat!' _Arthur quickly tried to pull the arms of the shirt through in order to made the shirt the right way around, but he was panicking and so he couldn't do it properly. In the end he just opted for putting his arms through the sleeves, even though the shirt was still inside out, and holding the font of the shirt together. "Hi, sorry I'll get out of your-"

"I'm so sorry!" Matthew covered his eyes, even though the damage had already been done – he had seen it all.

"That's quite alright. I'm a guy after all, and this is the sort of things guys normally do,isn't it? You know..walking around shirtless and all that." Arthur nervously laughed but stopped as Matthew still looked extremely embarrassed. Arthur noticed that his classmate's breathing was getting heavier, he cocked his head and then saw Matthew drop down onto the floor. Feeling his protective instinct kick in, Arthur dove onto the floor beside Matthew.

"Matthew? Matthew, are you alright?" a moment later he felt Matthew wrap his arms around his bare chest and pull him close. He froze – he was practically on top of Matthew by this point. This was not good.

"Mhmm..I-I'm sorry.." he whispered. Arthur could practically feel heat radiating from him and so he leaned back before placing the back of his hand on Matthew's forehead.

"Oh god. You really ought to head home Matthew, you have a really high temperature." It suddenly made sense why Matthew had gone to the nurse's office – and for a moment Arthur actually thought that Matthew had began stalking him like some obsessed fan girl, he really had to lower his ego.

Matthew nodded and Arthur pulled him up from the floor. He began to head towards the door when Matthew tapped his shoulder, gesturing to his unbuttoned and inside out school shirt. Arthur chuckled nervously before talking the shirt off again and putting it the right way round. He felt a slight blush on his cheeks as he knew Matthew was stood just a few feet away watching him. Matthew wanted to be polite but he just couldn't, he found Arthur so attractive he could hardly look away. Once Arthur finally had his shirt on again he hastily did up the buttons, he was sure that a few of them were probably looped through the wrong holes but at this point he just wanted to get out of the room that smelled like piss.

They both walked back to the nurse's office, Kiku was sat waiting outside. Arthur grew embarrassed – it must've looked so dodgy to see him and Matthew come out of the toilet together, looking in such a state. He was pretty sure that Kiku was already judging him for what went on at Gilbert's party too.

Arthur and Kiku waited for Matthew to get a sick note from the nurse and escorted him to reception so he could hand it in and go home.

Matthew smiled gratefully at Arthur. Not only had Arthur been really kind to him back in the bathroom because he was sick, but now he had an image of Arthur's naked torso glued to the inside of his brain – score!

"You shouldn't have come into school at all today if you were that ill, Matt." Arthur patted Matthew's soft hair, feeling him nod beneath him.

"I know..I just don't like taking days off of school." Arthur smiled, he appreciated a guy who wanted to learn. But what he didn't know was that Matthew would probably have considered staying home if it weren't for Arthur being in some of his classes.

"Good lad. Make sure you get plenty of rest, I could come by after school to check on you if you want?"

"Yes please." The hastiness of Matthew's words caused Arthur to feel anxious. He was just trying to be kind, but was this the sort of thing that friends would do or was he in danger of taking things too far again?

"Great.." Kiku elbowed him as if to signal that he sounded too upset about the whole situation "See you then." He added, trying to sound more perky as he waved Matthew goodbye. Kiku and Arthur watched as Matthew exited the school building and, as soon as he could no longer be seen, he let out a long sigh. Arthur bit his lip, now regretting his words. He needed to talk to Matthew and explain his true feelings, that was the only way to clear his conscience and stop him from having those weird reoccurring dreams. He didn't want to make things worse, and every time he had told himself to confront Matthew so far, things had become more complicated. He refused to dwell on the situation, however, and so he straightened out his now inside-in shirt before turning to Kiku.

He grinned "This will be the perfect opportunity to tell Matthew everything." he placed one hand on his hip and the other on his chin "Now I just have to make sure I don't mess this up. And then I'll be off scot-free, no more strange dreams for me. No sir." Kiku was puzzled by Arthur's sudden upbeatedness, but gave him an encouraging smile nonetheless.


	12. Chapter 12

Arthur pressed his finger firmly on the doorbell for a few moments before releasing. He shivered as some cool wind blew against his face, his heart began to race as memories of his dream came flooding back. Looking up in an attempt to distract himself, he noticed that the sun had now gone in and grey clouds were starting to form. Arthur sighed nostalgically as this kind of weather reminded him of England.

He watched as the front door slowly opened, revealing Matthew in cute bunny pyjamas and slippers. The Canadian's mouth grew agape slightly.

"Y-You actually came." he uttered, bashfully moving some hair out of his face.

"Of course I did. I said I would, didn't I?" He smiled at Matthew before being ushered into the hallway.

"Yes but...I'm used to being let down.." he looked down at his feet as Arthur furrowed his brow. He tapped his feet against each other, making the two bunnies on the end of his slippers squish together, before growing flustered. "Oh no..I'm sorry, I'm not dressed appropriately. Y-You see..I just-"

"That's quite alright. It's nice to feel comfortable when you're not feeling well. And besides, who doesn't like bunny rabbits?" He chuckled, being reminded of fond memories with his old friend flying mint bunny. Matthew smiled, Arthur was so kind to him and he couldn't understand why. Surely this meant that Arthur liked him at least a bit? Matthew fidgeted in place, not knowing how to respond. He heard a _'click'_ and then darted his eyes towards the kitchen.

"Oh. The water has finished boiling in the kettle, would you like a cup of tea?" Matthew headed towards the kitchen but was stopped as Arthur placed his arm in his way, shaking his head.

"Sure, but I'll go and make the tea. You should relax." He smiled before lightly tapping Matthew on the shoulder and proceeding to the kitchen. The Canadian got himself comfortable on the sofa with his pillows and blanket and admired Arthur as he poured the hot liquid into the tea cups.

As he continued to stare, he was suddenly reminded of the last time Arthur was seen in his kitchen. He furrowed his brow, he started to feel sick but he wasn't sure if that was because he was ill already or because of the thoughts buzzing around his head. Matthew watched as Arthur came back into the living room and handed him a cup of tea before sitting down beside him. Matthew took a sip of the tea and smiled, Arthur really did make the best cuppa. He mentally shook his head, he didn't want these types of thoughts to distract him from his goal. He glanced at Arthur who was contently sipping his own cup of tea and then averted his gaze back to his cup. He tapped his fingers on the china in anticipation before breathing in a load of air.

"Why did you kiss Alfred?" Matthew's voice cracked and Arthur almost spit out his drink at his words. The Canadian was aware that they had kissed more than once, and so he added "In my kitchen." just to make sure that Arthur was absolutely clear.

"Umm.." Arthur began, placing his cup of tea on the coffee table and sighing. "You see, Matthew. I've been wanting to talk to you about this for some time actually.."

"Do you love him?" Matthew uttered in such a tiny voice that he wasn't sure if Arthur completely heard him.

Arthur hesitated. "No! God, no!" He exclaimed before tugging at his collar. He cleared his throat as he regained his polite manner. "Lately, Alfred has been sending me mixed signals about how he feels. What I'm trying to say is...there is a chance that I harbour some, minor feelings for Alfred." Arthur sighed, relieved that he was able to finally get that off of his chest. He glanced at Matthew, who continued to gaze into the swirling pool of beige that resided in his cup.

"I see." Matthew finally mumbled. "Alfred confuses me too. First he acts like he likes me, then he kisses you.." He gulped "Then he kisses me."

Arthur half-smiled before picking up his cup of tea "Yeah. I know."

Matthew sipped his tea until it was nearly all gone so he wouldn't have to say anything. Things were so unbelievably awkward right now. In a way, Matthew had been expecting that answer. He knew that Arthur liked Alfred more than he was letting on, which made him feel gutted of course.

Arthur and Matthew watched TV in silence for the next half an hour. Arthur felt terrible, but he really didn't know what else to say at this point. He had done his part. But then again..had he? Sure, he had told Matthew that he had some feelings for Alfred, but Matthew didn't seem to comment on the fact that he had kissed him at the party. Maybe he was off the hook and Matthew thought that he must have been drunk. But his classmate hadn't said one word since that conversation, he was probably very upset.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now." Matthew uttered, getting up and grabbing his pillows and blankets.

"A-Alright then." Arthur said, startled by the sudden speech. He followed after Matthew, picking up the pillows that fell out of the Canadian's arms as they went up the stairs.

Upon entering his room, the smaller boy dropped his blanket and pillows on the bed. He pointed his finger along the line of teddies at the end of his bed before stopping on one. Arthur noted the tatty brown fur and beady black eyes, the bear wore a cute red scarf which had a Canadian flag stitched onto it. Matthew picked it up before getting into his bed, Arthur watched as Matthew placed his glasses on his bedside table and cuddled the teddy bear close to his chest.

"Goodnight." Matthew mumbled, which made Arthur feel anxious.

"Goodnight, if you need anything just let me know. Or would you rather me head ho-"

"You can stay." Matthew interrupted before snuggling into the covers, his head turned away from Arthur. And on that note Arthur left the room, slowly closing the door behind him.

There wasn't much for Arthur to do at Matthew's house. He picked up the copy of 'Little Dorrit' which was placed on the mantle piece and had a bit of a read. He soon got tired of this however, and so began snooping around Matthew's house. He decided to go into rooms that he hadn't been in before, he went into the room down the hall from the kitchen, revealing a study. There was a computer and a sofa next to a bookshelf full of DVDs and more books – most of which probably did not belong to Matthew. Arthur opened the draw beneath the study desk and shuffled around to see if he could find anything interesting. He found a stationary set that included blank A5 pieces of paper in different colours with different patterns. Most had 'A letter from Matthew' printed at the top. Arthur sighed as he returned the set back into the draw, he went back into the living room and flopped onto the sofa. Matthew's house was boring. Arthur hated to say it, but _Matthew_ was boring.

Arthur checked his phone, the snooping around hadn't taken up much time at all. He felt a sudden flow of butterflies in his tummy as he was reminded of that telephone conversation he had had with Alfred. Arthur tried to shake off the thought, anxious that he might get too horny and have to bash one out again at the thought of having sex with Alfred. There was no way in hell that Arthur could masturbate at Matthew's house, it was too risky and just plain rude. But that was the thing. It was _risky _and Arthur loved the idea of that.

Without a second thought, Arthur speedily began undoing his belt and trousers. He felt his bulge grow as his reminded himself of how good Alfred had made him feel in the closet at Gilbert's party. He didn't have any lubricants on hand, so he decided to do it the old fashioned way. He spat onto his hand which he thought was gross, but at this point he was too horny to care, and began rubbing his own member. He tilted his head back against the sofa as he imagined Alfred bending him over and fucking him. He picked up the pace and began thrusting his hips as he fantasied about feeling Alfred's cock pounding hard inside of him, their naked bodies flush against each other. He bit his lip, bottling up all of the moans that built up inside of him. How he longed to hear Alfred's pleasured moans, even the thought of Alfred with heavy eyelids and that longing look on his face was enough to push him over the edge. Arthur climaxed simultaneously as the doorbell rang.

He froze. He couldn't risk Matthew being woken up by the doorbell and finding him in such a state, but at the same time he couldn't exactly answer the door like _this_.

Arthur's eyes darted down to his body where the white liquid had squirted all up his shirt and slightly onto his trousers. He had been so involved in getting himself off that he hadn't thought about grabbing a tissue or a towel for his moment of release. _'Shit.'_

At this point, Arthur was just glad this his school shirt was white. He hastily grabbed a napkin from the kitchen and ferociously began wiping off the liquid before the doorbell rang another five times - whoever was behind the door sure was impatient. Arthur made his way over to the door, he straightened out his crumpled shirt before opening it.

"Oh, Artie. What're you doing here?" Arthur's mouth almost dropped open. The classmate he had just jacked off thinking about was now stood right in front of him. Alfred became uneasy as Arthur just stared, not saying anything. "Uh I mean..why wouldn't you be here..he's your boyfriend so.." he added.

Arthur snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing the word 'boyfriend'. Of course, he had completely forgotten about that, he smirked as Alfred began to look worried.

"So, what business do you have here?" Arthur asked boldly, eyeing up Alfred carefully as he waited for a response.

"Oh y'know..just to see Mattie and stuff.." He looked down at his trainers as he scuffed them on the concrete slab outside Matthew's front door. He quickly met Arthur's gaze "But if you guys are busy, that's cool. I can just-"

"Matthew isn't feeling well. I came by after school to check up on him, he's asleep right now." Alfred gave him a disappointed look before nodding. He turned to leave when Arthur stopped him.

"Wait." Alfred span around obediently. "Why don't you come in? I'm sure Matthew won't mind." The American raised his eyebrow, was this Arthur being nice? He didn't understand why he had been invited inside, but he wasn't about to pass up on this offer. Alfred stepped inside and Arthur tutted, gesturing towards his scruffy trainers. As soon as Alfred realised, he kicked them off and watched as Arthur sighed and sat on the sofa. Alfred jumped onto the sofa besides Arthur, which caused the Brit to bounce up and down a bit from the force. He scowled.

"Really now, Alfred." Arthur smirked at the grinning blonde man. "Don't lie. You really only came here to fuck me, didn't you?" His smirk deepened as he watched Alfred's mouth grow wide and his cheeks tint pink.

"I...W-What?" Arthur sniggered whilst raising an eyebrow and gestured his thumb and pinkie finger to resemble the shape of a phone. Alfred eyes grew wide_ 'Fuck. He still remembers that then..'_ Alfred brushed his hands through his hair as his eyes darted across the room, trying to look for something to help him escape the situation. "Well I..." _'I guess I should just come out with it..' _Alfred opened his mouth to continue, but then noticed something white on Arthur's black school trousers. Alfred began to smirk which made Arthur's smirk fade.

"What? What are you looking at?"

He leaned in close to Arthur "Is that...cum?" he whispered, gesturing to the Brit's trousers. Alfred watched as his classmate grew bright bed, he then pushed the American away.

"O-Of course not! It's probably just...yogurt." Arthur internally facepalmed. _'Yogurt? Even Alfred wouldn't buy that, you wanker – Literally!'._

Alfred wiggled his eyebrows at Arthur. "Riiiight." he paused. "That's not Matthew's jizz, is it?" he asked, hesitantly.

"What? No!"

"Phew!" Alfred chuckled "So you've just been having a tug at Mattie's house then? Wow, I'm surprised at you Mr. Kirkland." Alfred teased as Arthur's expression turned even more sour. "To think, Matt is asleep just upstairs and you were down here-"

Alfred was stopped as Arthur kissed him on the mouth. The American froze at first but Arthur then felt him kiss back eagerly, as if he had been waiting for so long to kiss him again. There wasn't a moment before Arthur slipped his tongue into Alfred's mouth, he pushed his classmate down onto the sofa and traced his tongue around the inside of his mouth. This situation seemed similar to the night Alfred had brought Arthur home to his house and they had shared their first kiss, he thought, and so he had an unbelievable desire to be the dominant one this time. The American pushed Arthur until he was on his back instead, the Brit gave a small moan as their crotches grinded together. Arthur began to tangle his fingers in Alfred's hair but let out a quiet whimper as his classmate suddenly pulled away.

"Man...I'm sorry..I-I can't do this.." Alfred sat up, scratching the back of his neck and averting his eyes from Arthur.

"Matthew isn't my boyfriend." Arthur uttered, he watched as Alfred met his gaze, a grin spreading onto his face. Arthur didn't wait for him to answer before pulling his classmate back on top of him and devouring him with hungry kisses. A moment later, Alfred began tracing wet kisses down Arthur's neck and he began to unbutton his shirt so he could continue down his chest. He felt Arthur stiffen.

"Hmm?" Alfred stopped and gazed at Arthur whose lips were red and moist, his hair was even more shaggy than usual. "Oh shit, sorry. It's cool if you have body issues or whatever." Arthur shook his head, he had just been reminded of when Matthew saw him shirtless in the bathroom at school.

"No, go on." Alfred obliged and began slowly unbuttoning Arthur's shirt and continued trailing kisses down his chest as he did so. "I was just thinking about this situation today. I wore my shirt inside-out to school, can you believe that?" he only received some muffled sounds in response. "But even Kiku didn't think to tell me, which surprised me, at first." Alfred started to completely ignore him as he began to suck on Arthur's nipple. "Hey, are you even listening?" Arthur scowled.

Alfred sat up and furrowed his brow. "Can you not shut up for like, two seconds? Jesus Christ, I'm trying to get in the mood here." Arthur nostrils flared and his eyebrows knitted together in anger as he breathed in some air – ready to tell Alfred what for. All of the words that were going to spill out of Arthur's mouth were soon forgotten as Alfred began caressing his crotch. He decided to get his anger out in another way, since talking didn't seem to work in a situation like this.

Arthur pushed Alfred off of him forcefully and unbuttoned the American's school shirt, he took it off and chucked it across the room. His eyes darted around every corner of Alfred's chest, he couldn't believe that shirtless Alfred was right here in his grasp. Arthur licked down Alfred's chest before he began rapidly undoing his trousers.

"Take them off. _Now._"

"Yes sir." Alfred grinned like an idiot as he got up and tried to take off his trousers as quickly as he could. He had a feeling that Arthur would be a saucy minx in the bedroom. Alfred chucked his trousers over his shoulder and stood with his hands on his hips, smirking at his classmate. The Brit clearly wanted to take control, so he'd let him this time.

Arthur got on his knees on the sofa and gently traced his finger down Alfred's chest to his crotch, Alfred shivered in anticipation as his classmate rubbed his groin for a moment.

Arthur then pulled down the American's boxers in one quick motion, revealing his semi-erect cock. Alfred blushed as he watched the Brit stare at his manhood. Arthur hesitated for a moment, but shook every thought off as he licked the tip with his tongue. Alfred moaned breathily at the sudden contact but he grew louder as his classmate put his whole length into his mouth. The room was soon filled with only the sound of Arthur's sucking and Alfred's groans and moans. Arthur sucked hard on his swollen cock and glanced up to see Alfred red-faced and biting his lip. The American rested his hand on Arthur's head and moved his hips slightly through natural reaction, he felt his classmate's head bobbing in sync with his hips and let out a moan when the overwhelming pleasure started to build up rapidly.

"A-Arthur.." Alfred moaned, his legs beginning to tremble. Arthur pulled his cock out of his mouth and gazed at Alfred with a smirk, he saw lust clouding those blue eyes of his.

Alfred gulped, his adam's apple bobbing, and pushed Arthur against the sofa.

"I want you." he purred into his ear. The Brit shivered as Alfred's warm breath tickled his ear and had no time to think before Alfred pushed him down. The American undid Arthur's trousers and pulled them off.

"H-Hey!" Arthur objected. He averted his eyes from Alfred who was staring hungrily at him, his eyes were immediately drawn to the fact that this was _Matthew's_ living room. The Brit gasped as he felt Alfred pulling down his own boxers. "Wait! We can't just.._do it_ here in Matthew's living room!" He exclaimed, forgetting that he should probably whisper.

Alfred reluctantly pulled back, he gazed left and right whilst placing his hand on his chin. "Yeah. I guess you're right." he got off of Arthur and stood up, pulling his boxers back up. Arthur let out a little whimper as he did so, why couldn't this have happened at his own house? He raised his eyebrow as he saw Alfred grin at him.

A moment later Alfred grabbed his classmate and picked him up bridal style.

"Oi! Let me go!" Arthur kicked his legs but Alfred only held on tighter.

"Shhh. Don't wanna wake Mattie." Alfred teased as he began carrying Arthur away from the sofas. He paused for a moment as he looked down Arthur's confused face "Hmm..Well my car is in the driveway." He said with a wink. Arthur stared at Alfred, he was completely baffled by this man.

"Are you mad?"

Alfred chuckled in response. "Probably."

Arthur didn't say anything more as Alfred carried him over to the door and then set him back down. He watched as Alfred ran over to pick up their clothes that they had flung across the room. The American then opened the door and walked over to his car, not caring that he still only had his underwear on and had a boner that was clearly visible. He opened up the car door and chucked the clothes into the driver's seat before slamming it closed and turning to look at Arthur.

_'He's gone completely bonkers. What on earth is he thinking?' _Arthur just stared as Alfred gestured for him to come over.

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going to walk outside with no clothes on." Arthur crossed his arms and scowled.

Alfred frowned but then shrugged. "I guess that means no sex then." He smirked as he saw Arthur's cheeks tint pink.

_'Blast it...Why does he have to be so attractive and why do I have to want him so badly?'_

Arthur looked left and right before diving into the back seat of Alfred's car. Alfred didn't waste any time before jumping in after him and climbing on top of his classmate.

"W-Wait! We can't do this." he cried whilst Alfred began sucking on his neck. As he heard no reply from the American he asked "We're..not actually going to do this are we?" in a loud whisper, to which he hoped the reply would be 'yes'. He was a bit hesitant, but he really wanted it.

The American pulled back "Look, I know this seems wrong but like..I'm so freakin' horny...You make me go crazy, Arthur!" The shaggy blonde blushed at the thought of Alfred longing him this much. "A-And I think I'm gonna go completely mad if we don't-"

"But do you even have a condom or anything?" Arthur interrupted and watched as Alfred began to grin. Before he could say anything else, Alfred climbed over the front seats and grabbed his wallet out of his school trouser pocket. He pulled out a condom and held it up to show Arthur. He watched Arthur open his mouth to speak before climbing over the front seats again and shuffling around in the front car compartment. A moment later he pulled out a bottle of lube and tossed it to Arthur - who didn't manage to catch it.

"You really did come here to fuck me, didn't you?"

Alfred chuckled "Of course not. I didn't even know you were gonna be here. I always carry these around, just in case." he winked at Arthur which caused his blush to deepen. Just how long had Alfred wanted to do this with him? "Also, Francis said it was a good idea."

The American resumed kissing his classmate's neck. "F-Francis?" Arthur questioned through moans. What a turn off.

"Yeah." Alfred began to take off his underwear. "Him and Mattie used to date, ya know." He shuffled around in the seat and managed to get his boxers off, he kicked them onto the floor of the car and then gestured to Arthur's boxers, the Brit nodded and he whipped them off as well.

"What? How did I not know this-" Arthur was stopped by his own moan as Alfred began rubbing his member. "Sweet Matthew and that French _bastard_?" Alfred shut Arthur up by planting a soft kiss onto his mouth.

"Hey." Alfred placed his hands firmly on Arthur's shoulders. "This is about me and you right now, no one else. This is our moment." Arthur was shocked by the sincerity and seriousness in Alfred's voice. He nodded before Alfred kissed him on the cheek and reached for the lube that was on the car floor due to Arthur's lack of catching skills.

Arthur moved away from Alfred as he squirted some lube onto his fingers. He cringed at the fact that this lube was here because of Francis' suggestion, but he was eager to push those thoughts aside so he could focus all of his attention on Alfred. The American watched as his classmate inserted a finger into his anus and Arthur's small, breathy moans lingered in his ears.

"D-Don't look! This is embarrassing.." Arthur whined.

"No can do." Arthur shot a glare at Alfred but his expression soon changed to one of pleasure as he inserted a second finger. Alfred gulped. "Please say you'll be ready soon, otherwise I might be finished before we've started." Alfred laughed nervously and Arthur really didn't know whether he was joking or not.

"Oh god." He tried his best to sound pissed off, but it didn't work. Especially when he was the most vulnerable Alfred had ever seen him right now. "Why does it have to be someone like you..who can't last two seconds..to take my virginity" He panted, his moans growing as his inserted his third finger.

"You're-Oh Arthur, you're a virgin?" Arthur glanced up to see Alfred grinning. He wasn't sure why he sounded so surprised, Arthur had been a loner pretty much all his life – how would he have found somebody to take it? Alfred's grin faded into a softer smile. "That's great."

"Yeah, I bet."

"No I mean..'Cause I'm a virgin too." Alfred averted his gaze as Arthur stopped to stare at him, removing his fingers. Arthur thought the American football player was beyond hot. He had assumed that he had done it with at least some girls before. Arthur smiled at Alfred who had begun to blush.

"I'm ready now."

Alfred grabbed the condom and lube and placed them both over his cock before going over to Arthur who was trying to get into a comfortable position on his back. He brushed his hands down Arthur's thighs and leaned over to kiss him deeply.

"So, you're sure you wanna do this?" Arthur found it sweet that Alfred seemed to care so much for him, but at this point he was so horny that he just wanted his classmate to fuck him already.

"Just do it." Arthur whispered before pulling Alfred in for a rough kiss.

Alfred tried to be as gentle as he could and so slowly inserted his manhood into Arthur's tight hole. He watched Arthur wince and his facial expression change to one of discomfort as he slid in inch by inch. Once he had given Arthur time to adjust to his width, he began moving slowly and built a steady rhythm. The feeling of Arthur wrapped tightly around him was so overwhelmingly pleasurable, he knew he wouldn't last long.

Arthur heard Alfred call out his name as he thrust in deeper and he himself moaned in sync with each thrust of his classmate's hips. He wrapped his arms tightly around the American's back and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

"I'm..I'm gonna..." Alfred moaned. He buried his head into Arthur's neck and gave a few more thrusts, which pushed the Brit over the edge. The American groaned loudly and released before collapsing on top of Arthur. The two led there, intertwined for a moment before Arthur cupped his hands around Alfred's red and warm cheeks and pulled his lips onto his own.

* * *

An hour later, the two lay on Alfred's sofa in the living room whilst watching TV. After cleaning themselves up, the two felt too awkward to return to Matthew's house and so Alfred drove them back to his instead.

Arthur snuggled into his classmate's neck and intertwined their fingers as Alfred leaned over to kiss him on the forehead. He struggled to reach into his pocket as he didn't want to remove himself from his current position, however he managed to pull out his phone to check the time.

"It's getting late, and we've got school tomorrow." Alfred commented softly as he brushed Arthur's hand with his thumb – he didn't care, but he knew Arthur found his education important. He felt the Brit wrap his arms around his neck and pull him in close.

"I don't want to go." He whined, although it was mainly muffled. He didn't know why he had decided to speak his mind all of a sudden, but after the events that had occurred this night, it's not like it was out of the ordinary. Alfred responded by wrapping his arms around Arthur's lean waist.

"Me neither." He gently pulled Arthur back so he could look at his face. "But it's okay because..." Alfred trailed off as he placed his palm up against Arthur's, they stayed there for a moment, admiring the fact that their hands didn't completely match up. The American locked his fingers with Arthur's. They fit perfectly in his grasp, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

So this chapter took longer than I had expected to upload orz but here it is! And nahh, this isn't the end. I'm thinking probably only 2 or 3 more chapters until this story is finished though uwu I've also started writing this new Hetalia fanfic since writing this one turned out to be so much fun :D But I probably won't start uploading it 'till I've finished with this one - so be sure to look out for it! Thanks again for reading :)


	13. Chapter 13

The smell of pancakes and maple syrup filled the air as Alfred drizzled the golden sauce over his breakfast. The American took his seat on the sofa and began watching cartoons as he ate his delicious food, he saw his phone buzz and vibrate and realised that this was the alarm that he had set for school. He had gotten up as soon as his eyes sprung open and started getting ready straight away – he just couldn't wait to see his new boyfriend.

The previous night had been the best night of Alfred's life – although he would never admit that to Arthur. He had seen a completely different side to his British classmate as well, a side that was vulnerable. Alfred was willing to admit that he had always found Arthur attractive, but not to the extent that he did now. It wasn't just because he had now seen every inch of Arthur's body, it was because he now knew what it was like to have Arthur and to hold him. Sure, Arthur was still the sarcastic jerk he had always been, but now things just felt different – especially since Arthur was now his and his alone.

Alfred grinned at the whole idea, _'He's all mine' _he thought and whistled cheerily as he exited his house and entered his car. He turned on the radio and sang along to the music the whole journey to school. He had to remind himself not to be so eager as Arthur wasn't in any of his morning classes and so he would have to wait until recess to see him, but he couldn't help feeling so giddy!

Alfred entered the school building and he kept an eye out for Arthur so he could at least give him a quick kiss before going to his first lesson. He strolled past some large posters that appeared to be all over the school walls, he would have kept walking but then the word 'Prom' caught his eye. He reversed and turned to face the poster. Alfred's eyes immediately lit up and he fist pumped the air (He also received a few weird looks from other students but he really didn't care), this was so perfect.

Alfred had forgotten all about the school prom, and now he had Arthur so they could actually go together without it being weird. He was now super excited to ask Arthur to go with him, he was half tempted to phone him up right there and then and ask him. He didn't however, as he figured that he could surprise Arthur really romantically._ 'Yeah! He'd totally love that!'._

Unfortunately, Alfred didn't bump into Arthur before his first class so he would have to hold on a little longer without seeing him. The Brit was on Alfred's mind all lesson so he couldn't work properly and kept shuffling around in his seat. He figured there was no point in even attempting work, so instead he doodled on his notebook whilst thinking of ways to ask Arthur to go to prom with him.

Once the bell rang, signalling recess, Alfred practically jumped out of his chair and ran out the classroom door. He headed straight to the library because that was usually where Arthur spent his breaks, but was disappointed to find that he wasn't there. He swiftly turned back around and bumped into a student entering the library.

"Oh, hey Matt! What's up?" Alfred asked cheerily to his classmate who was fixing his now askew glasses.

"Uhm..N-Nothing! I've been meaning to talk to you actually. This is perfect timing." Alfred cocked his head, looking puzzled. He felt a slight flush grow on his cheeks as he wondered if Matthew was going to talk about what he heard going on in his living room the previous night. His doubt was not relieved however, as Matthew took him by the hand and led him towards the music corridor. They stopped outside one of the music rooms and Matthew peered through the window before opening the door and ushering Alfred inside.

"No one should bother us here." He mumbled. Alfred wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear that or not and so he felt weirdly anxious. Matthew's expression changed to one of worry when he saw Alfred's look of concern.

"What? N-No I didn't mean it like that!" He exclaimed.

"Phew! I thought you were coming onto me for a second there, Mattie!" Alfred winked at Matthew who shook his head vigorously as he grabbed a chair and sat down. Alfred chuckled and took a chair too. He sat on it backwards and rested his arms on the top before smiling at his classmate.

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked.

Matthew bit his lip as he averted his eyes from Alfred's gaze. He began nervously playing with the bottom of his shirt "It involves me, you and Arthur." He muttered.

* * *

Arthur hadn't seen any sign of Alfred for the whole of recess, which disappointed him. He hated to think it, but what if Alfred didn't like him anymore? He knew it was a stupid thought, but he had expected Alfred to come looking for him – maybe he just had too big an ego after all. He sighed, tapping his black ballpoint pen on the table, surely he was just being silly? He and Alfred had shared such tender moments the evening before, he reminisced of being in Alfred's warm embrace and being whispered sweet nothings into his ear. Alfred certainly wasn't one to quickly change his mind for no good reason and so Arthur came to the conclusion that he was just being paranoid – like always. Alfred probably just got caught up with work or maybe he got detention or maybe he had just been with another friend.

Even the thought of Alfred hanging around somebody else filled Arthur with jealousy. He tried to push those thoughts aside however, and focus on what really mattered. Alfred was finally his, and his alone.

Once the bell rang signalling lunchtime, Arthur collected his belongings and headed out the door. He began walking to the cafeteria but stopped upon seeing the poster that he had strolled past on the way to his classroom that morning, he decided to pause and examine it for a moment. Arthur scoffed upon reading 'PROM' written in big bubble letters, but his expression soon relaxed to one of fondness. Perhaps he would partake in the dance that he had spend so much time complaining about, just this once, for Alfred. _'Yeah, he would love that.'_ He smiled to himself as he entered the cafeteria. He scanned the room for Alfred knowing that he would come and give him a big hug and Arthur, of course, would push him away and tell him to stop embarrassing him but would be sure to hold Alfred's hand under the table once they had got their lunch and sat down.

That's just how things had always been between them. Arthur had been picked on a lot in the past and so he started to go off alone, it seemed to work as many of his classmates left him alone and only a few such as Kiku actually bothered to make friends with him. He and Alfred had been childhood friends and their parents were close so they seemed to communicate a lot even though they had a lack of things in common. Now that he thought about it, he had no idea why Alfred hung around for so long. He could have just gone off with the others and completely forgot about him, but he didn't. Maybe Alfred really had liked him this whole time, which of course made Arthur feel guilty about everything he did. But that was all in the past now. Alfred hadn't commented on it at all so he had presumed he didn't care, which was good because Arthur wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell Alfred _everything_.

Arthur spotted Alfred sat with his usual friends such as Gilbert, Antonio, Toris, Elizaveta and that wannabe Francis. This made Arthur wonder, now that he and Alfred were an item, would he be integrated into their friendship group? Obviously he couldn't stand Francis, but he figured he would be able to put up with him for Alfred's sake. Maybe this would be a good thing too, Arthur was in dire need of some more friends, and maybe he could convince Kiku to join him too so he wouldn't feel completely left out.

Arthur grabbed a tray and collected his lunch before heading over to the table. _'Everything seems to be falling into place nicely. Maybe things are actually going to go right for a change.'_

The Brit arrived at the table where he watched Gilbert stop mid-conversation and all eyes stare at him. He gulped, smiled, and placed his tray on the table before sitting next to Alfred. Almost as soon as his bottom touched the chair Alfred got up out of his. Arthur watched, confused, as Alfred picked up his tray and began walking away.

"Eh? Al, where ya goin'?" Gilbert finally piped up.

"Sorry guys. I don't wanna sit here if _he's_ gonna be there." He stated coldly whilst gesturing in the direction of Arthur. Everyone on the table turned to look at Arthur who was staring at Alfred.

His heart sank. He had been looking forward to seeing Alfred all day, why on earth was he mad with him now?

But, of course, Arthur already knew the answer. What he really wanted to know was who spilled the beans.

"Me? What on earth have I done?" Arthur stood up from his chair and began walking towards Alfred who was scanning the room for another seat.

"I really don't want to talk to you right now.." He finally answered, averting his eyes from Arthur's sharp gaze.

"Stop being a baby and just talk to me." Arthur could feel the anger bubble and brew inside of him, how dare Alfred act so coldly towards him – especially after the lovely evening that they had shared.

"..You know what you did." He mumbled.

"Pardon? For god's sake Alfred, don't strop. Why can't you act mature for once in your life?" Arthur was aware that all eyes of the cafeteria were on him and Alfred, but there was no turning back now.

"You really wanna know? You played me for a fool. That's what you did." Arthur was slightly taken aback by the anger in Alfred's voice, Arthur really must have hurt him badly. What he really wanted to do was take him away privately so he could explain things and apologise for being stupid. But things just didn't work this way between them.

"How dare you accuse me of such things!" Arthur exclaimed, he was so blinded by anger and embarrassment that he knocked Alfred's tray of food right out of his grasp.

"Hey! There's no need for you to be angry. You got what you wanted, right?" Arthur furrowed his brow as Alfred looked him straight in the eye. "You played both me and Mattie for fools, you strung us along for your own petty gain. You made me jealous, you made me want you so, so badly. And so that means you won, right? Well congratu-fucking-lations. But don't you dare have a go at me when you're the one who's a sadistic loner with mental problems!"

Arthur's mouth dropped open. He should have known better than to mess with Alfred's food. He knew he should apologise right there and then, surely it wasn't too late to apologise?

Instead, Arthur's rage overflowed and he aggressively slammed Alfred against the wall and grabbed him by the throat. He had gone too far this time.

"You! Take that back right now!" Alfred's stared at his boyfriend, his mouth agape.

A moment later Gilbert pulled Arthur off of Alfred and the two were sent to detention shortly after.

* * *

Arthur glanced at Alfred who was sat on the opposite side of the room, gazing out of the window. It was strange to think that previous night the two of them had seen completely different sides to one another and had acted all loved up towards each other. But now there was silence and space between them. How had things gotten so bad, so quickly?

Alfred was gutted. He hadn't thought at all about Matthew until he had bumped into him earlier this morning, he had completely forgotten and disregarded the fact that Arthur had lied and made him believe that he and Matthew were a couple. Once Matthew had told him everything, his heart sank. He had no choice but to believe him though, firstly Matthew wasn't one to lie and secondly, all the evidence seemed to match up. Alfred still felt a lump in his throat and he swallowed hard, he could feel Arthur's eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.

The silence was killing him. He needed to at least say something, there were so many questions that he wanted to be answered.

"Can I ask...why?" Alfred's voice cracked and he cringed at the fact that he didn't sound confident like he was hoping to.

"Why what?" Alfred couldn't believe how Arthur was acting like he was completely innocent.

"Why did you use me and Matt?"

"Oh please." Arthur responded coldly. "Don't be childish."

Silence once again grew in the barren classroom, maybe Arthur was being too harsh. He was at fault here, he knew that, he just couldn't stand the fact that Alfred had embarrassed him in front of the whole school. He supposed he deserved it, however.

"Look, I don't know what I was thinking..Things got out of hand..I didn't mean for this to..." Arthur trailed off. It was going to be harder than he originally thought to apologise.

"I was so excited to see you today." Arthur glanced at Alfred whose head was still facing the window, he smiled faintly to himself – at least the feeling was mutual. "I was thinking about asking you to prom, I had so many ideas..." Alfred trailed off and then scoffed "So many stupid ideas.." Arthur bit his lip, he couldn't stand seeing Alfred this way. "But then I bumped into Matt and...I realised something." Alfred turned to face Arthur. "You're a complete asshole."

Arthur's mouth grew agape and his eyebrows knitted together in anger. His expression soon changed to one of guilt however, as he saw the devastated look on the American's face. Alfred was completely right.

He didn't know what to say, he knew the only thing he should have said was sorry, but for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to apologise. He had figured that Matthew was the one that told Alfred everything, he supposed he deserved that too after the way he had treated him. Not only had Arthur potentially ruined his and Alfred's relationship forever, but he had lost a friend who genuinely cared about him and took an interest in his life. So yes, Arthur was willing to admit to himself that he was an arsehole.

"I've liked you this whole time." Arthur blurted out. Alfred looked at him in shock, Arthur saw a quick flicker of happiness in his expression, but it quickly reverted back to anger.

"Well that just makes it worse. I can't believe you did that to Mattie. You should have seen his face, the poor guy.." He turned away from the Brit who remained silent. "If you liked me from the start, we could have avoided all this tiptoeing around. Why did you act like you were Matthew's boyfriend if you liked me? I just can't understand you, Arthur."

"You said you liked both me and Matthew. I didn't want to pour my heart out to you, only to find that you liked Matthew more!" He exclaimed. Alfred should have known that he finds it hard to convey his feelings anyway.

"Well if you had actually bothered to talk to me then maybe you would've realised when my feelings started changing. You kept running away from me, what was I supposed to do?"

"But you kissed Matthew at Gilbert's party! That's right, I saw that." Arthur crossed his arms as he stared Alfred down.

"And if anything, that made me realise that I definitely liked you and not Matthew." Arthur's expression softened at his words. "But then you had to go and fuck that all up by kissing Matt and such...Goddamn it.." Alfred placed his head in his hands. Arthur had never seen Alfred so torn, he was glad because this must have meant that Alfred really did feel very strongly about him, but he was angry at himself at the same time for what he had done.

"I'm sorry. Okay? I am so very sorry. Can we please just forget about all of this and just go back to normal?" His words sounded a lot more sarcastic and blunt than he had intended, but he couldn't change that now. "A-And if you still want to go to prom with me then...I'd be more than happy to go with you." He added in a mumble.

Alfred groaned in response. "I'm really not the only one you should be apologising to and, don't you see? Everything has been messed up. Plus.. I don't..." Alfred swallowed and Arthur watched his Adam's apple bob up and down "I don't think I want to be around you-I don't think I _can_ be around you anymore."

Arthur felt a lump in his throat, those words hurt, he couldn't imagine what it would be like now not having Alfred in his life, especially since he had now come to terms with his feelings for him. Arthur nodded but he wasn't sure if Alfred was looking.

"And as for prom...I'm going with Matthew now." Alfred began to regret his words even as he said them, but things just couldn't go back to normal – especially not after Alfred saw how upset Arthur had made Matthew. He wanted nothing more than to go with Arthur to prom, but he was so distraught and his heart was aching so much – he just couldn't be around Arthur. He was a jerk.

Arthur felt betrayed, but again, he knew he deserved it. He just wouldn't go to prom, it was no biggie. He would continue his normal everyday life, but this time acting as if he and Alfred had never been friends – or anything more than that, for that matter. He had messed up possibly his only chance to be with Alfred, and now he would just stay out of his way.

The two sat in silence for the rest of detention before leaving for their next class.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ahhh I'm sorry that I had to let this happen TT_TT But Arthur needs to face the consequences of his actions! But don't fret! It shouldn't be long until my next update and there's only going to be two more chapters after this one and then it'll be all done uwu

Also I just wanted to mention that I know in a lot of highschools they don't have recess and usually just have lunch time, but here in the UK we tend to have a few lessons, then recess (or 'break' as we call it) and then more lessons and then lunch etc. Since I haven't actually stated where this AU is set I just thought that it'd be okay to leave it, so sorry for any confusion! Thanks again for reading :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:**

I've had this ready for a while but I've only just managed to get it uploaded, so sorry about that! So, here's some Matthew POV of the previous events. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Matthew had never experienced emotions like this before. He had never felt for someone like he had felt for Arthur, and that's why he was so unbelievably gutted when Arthur had admitted that he had feelings for Alfred and not him. Part of him always knew, however, but it wasn't really fair of Arthur to keep the hope in his heart alive by not telling him sooner. Matthew couldn't stand the awkwardness and so he had gone to bed even though he wasn't tired, he just had to get away. Part of him didn't want to let Arthur say another word, not like it looked like he was going to say anything else anyway.

Matthew did manage to fall asleep however, and woke to find that Arthur had left his house. The smell of BO and fast food lingered in his living room, Alfred had undeniably been here the night before. Matthew really didn't know what to think on the matter, he had never been involved in drama before as he tended to stay hidden in the background. He picked up his sofa cushions, wondering why they were on the floor, and then checked the clock on his wall. There was still time before he had to get going for school. Part of him wanted to stay home to avoid the awkwardness of having to face either Alfred or Arthur, but there was no doubt that he was feeling much better. He decided to head to school early, like usual, and to catch up on the school work he had missed in the library.

* * *

Matthew tapped his pen against his mouth as he tried to think of the answer to a question for his science class. He gazed towards the library door and froze upon seeing Kiku and Arthur enter, a moment later he checked his watch. It seems his classmates had had a similar idea to come to school early to catch up on work. He didn't know why he was so surprised, from a distance he had watched these two come by the library often for years. He hid behind a textbook, trying his best not to be spotted, and peeked over the top to find the students seating themselves at a table in front of him.

A few minutes later Matthew realised that he had stopped working in favour of eavesdropping on his classmates. He bit at his lip, this was so wrong. What did he expect to hear? So far there had only been talk of school work and other topics of unimportance. And so, Matthew tuned out and began getting on with his work.

A moment later however, Matthew was drawn back in upon hearing Alfred's name.

"-Things seem to be going well. I guess playing hard to get really did work in the end." Arthur said, it was obvious that he was trying to hide the excitement in his voice. Matthew continued to nibble on his lip.

"Good. I suppose everything else will just be in the past then?"

"Yes. Well, I hope so. Obviously I feel terrible about using Matthew but..It's not like I can take it all back now. And besides, now everything seems to be working out for everyone."

"What about for Matthew?" There was a pause in response.

"I'll...I'll be sure to make it up to him somehow." Matthew watched as Kiku raised an eyebrow to Arthur. "..I guess I'll just explain that Alfred made me jealous and...I wanted to get him back for that...Oh god, that sounds awful. Doesn't it?" Arthur placed his hand on his forehead before chuckling. Matthew eyebrows twitched angrily, why was Arthur acting like all of this was a joke? It was worse than he had originally thought.

"I'm sure he'll understand in time. After all, we all make mistakes." Kiku gave Arthur a comforting pat on the shoulder before turning his attention to his textbook.

"Yeah..I think I'd just die if Alfred ever found out about everything though." Matthew suddenly grew alert. He felt all of these emotions flow through him that he couldn't quite express. That was a brilliant idea, he would tell Alfred everything. Firstly, he thought, Alfred deserves to know that Arthur was using them both and secondly, this would act as his own way of getting back at Arthur for stringing him along.

Before, Matthew hadn't wanted to admit it. Arthur was a kind, gentle guy. But now there was no denying it, Arthur had led him on.

Matthew felt so angry, he wanted to storm out of the room then and there but he just couldn't bring himself to stop eavesdropping. The more he listened, the worse it got.

"You should have seen the way Matthew was looking at me, Kiku." Arthur hid his face in embarrassment. "His eyes shone with adoration, I'm telling you." Matthew's cheeks grew bright red, so now Arthur was making fun of him? "And that kiss at the party...I wasn't going to go through with it, but since Alfred was watching I just thought.." Arthur trailed off. He had clearly gone past the point of caring what Kiku thought of him.

Matthew inspected Kiku's face, he happened to look quite interested in the whole situation, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Even though Matthew had overheard that Kiku wasn't into all the school gossip, he now thought that that was a huge lie. He hung on Arthur's every word, giving him sympathetic smiles and a bit of friendly advice when he saw fit.

"It's completely understandable, I think." Matthew frowned. Was he being too over the top about all of this? "Jealously is an ugly emotion, it clearly took you over. To be honest, I think you happen to be very lucky that Alfred and Matthew don't know the lengths to which you went through to make Alfred jealous, Arthur-San."

"Yeah. I'm really lucky. It's a shame about Matthew though, but I don't really know what to do about him now."

_'Just apologise. Just tell me what I want to hear. Just make me feel better about this situation.'_

Arthur sighed but then smiled at Kiku. "Ah well. I'm sure he'll get over it at some point. Feels too awkward to talk to him now, though." Arthur chuckled as he got out of his chair and stretched his arms to which Kiku smiled in response. "Anyway, there's no point in being down now, today should be a good day."

Matthew watched as Arthur collected up his books. He looked happy, happier than Matthew had ever seen him. It angered him. It wasn't fair for Arthur to be so happy when he was not. All he wanted was an apology, or _something_, just to keep him on the right track. It was dangerous to leave Matthew alone with these emotions that he didn't know how to deal with.

Arthur waved goodbye to Kiku before leaving the room. Once he was out of sight, Matthew let out a long sigh. He gathered his belongings and got up to go to class. He went around a large shelf of books as he headed towards the exit in the hope that he would be hidden, and rushed out the door as quickly as he could.

Kiku spotted Matthew with ease, especially since he almost tripped on his shoelace on his way out. He pursed his lips. He knew he and Arthur should not have talked about such things in a public area.

* * *

Matthew had his plan all set out. First he would return his book to the library, then he would find Alfred and take him somewhere private so he could tell him everything – he'd be sure to make sure no one was around, he didn't want anybody eavesdropping! The second part may not be as easy, he thought as he headed to the library, Alfred didn't usually hang around in one particular place at breaks and so it could be difficult to find him with enough time to spare. He could also already be hanging with Arthur, which would make things more complicated. Darn, he really hoped that that wouldn't be the case. He didn't know if he could face Arthur after-

Matthew's thoughts were cut off as he lightly bumped into a student's chest. He looked up to find just the American that he was looking for.

"Oh, hey Matt! What's up?" Alfred said, beaming. Matthew decided to take him to somewhere private straight away as he knew Alfred had a short attention span, he figured his library book could wait until later.

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked as the two were sat on chairs in the empty music room.

_'Where to begin?'_

"It involves me, you and Arthur." Matthew bit his lip.

"Uh-huh." Matthew could see a light blush spread onto Alfred's tanned cheeks as he averted his gaze to the floor, which only made him more angry.

Had this really been a good idea after all? Now he was second guessing himself, maybe he was being over-dramatic about the whole thing. Matthew reminded himself of what he had overheard Arthur saying to Kiku, Arthur had admitted that he had led him on. He reminded himself of all of the positive and negative emotions that Arthur had made him feel. The positive ones made the negative ones seem even worse.

"He's a jerk." Matthew blurted out. His eyes grew wide, he had actually been able to say it. Sure, it wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Wha-" Alfred cocked his head but then began laughing. "Yeah, I know right?"

"I'm serious." Alfred suddenly grew rigid and his expression turned to one of confusion as he furrowed his brow. "H-He used us. Both of us." Alfred opened his mouth to speak, but Matthew wasn't going to let him. "I really liked Arthur and then he...he just used me to make you jealous." Matthew averted his gaze to the floor as he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Alfred just stared, his mouth grew agape slightly. There was so much that he wanted to say, but he didn't, he just kept completely quiet and still so Matthew could say what he needed to say. He had never seen Matthew so angry and upset, it almost brought tears to his own eyes.

"He played with you too. He used you like a yo-yo, pulling you close only when he wanted you, and tossing you aside when he was finished." Matthew gazed up to find Alfred looking extremely angry. Maybe he had said too much, but there was no stopping him now. "He played us both for complete fools. Everything was a lie." Matthew averted his gaze back to the floor.

The was a long pause before Alfred swallowed hard.

"It all makes sense now." Matthew looked up to find Alfred with an unreadable expression. "That's why one moment he was hot, and the next he was cold when it came to us. He just wanted to string me along." Matthew jumped as Alfred slammed his fist on the table to the right of him. "Goddamn it... And here I thought things were finally gonna be right between us..I can't believe he had the upper hand over me this whole time..." Alfred paused and Matthew watched in horror. _'What have I done?'_

"I can't believe I actually had feelings for that...that asshole. I can't believe he was able to make me want him so much that it hurt." Alfred met Matthew's gaze. "And I can't believe he'd do such an inconsiderate thing to you." Alfred was careful to leave out another point that they had made love the night before and that it was _amazing_ and now he just felt like a had been totally used – because he was sure that that wasn't what Matthew wanted to hear right now.

Matthew's lip quivered slightly. He didn't know that Alfred would react this badly, maybe he really had gone too far. Alfred's expression softened to one of sympathy when he saw Matthew's.

"Don't worry. None of this is your fault." He placed his hand lightly on Matthew's shoulder as he forced a small smile. "Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it." he got up out of his chair and headed for the door.

"Wait." Matthew squeaked. Alfred turned around as Matthew stood up from his chair. "I-I didn't mean to...I-I mean...I-" Matthew was stopped and Alfred pulled him in for a big hug.

"Shhh. It's okay." He whispered softly as he brushed Matthew's hair with his hand. "I'm just sorry you had to get involved with all of this." He felt the smaller boy shake his head in response. Alfred gently pulled Matthew back so he could look at him and then gently brushed off the tears that were staining his cheeks with his thumb. "Want to go to prom with me?" He asked with a smile.

Matthew nodded in response as he rubbed his eye with the back of his hand.

"Cool." Alfred looked up at the clock that was ticking on the wall. "Anyways, we better get to class."

* * *

It was exhausting, but Matthew had done it. He was able to tell Alfred everything. OK, now that he thought about it, maybe he had over exaggerated everything a little and he had not gone into all the details but he was angry – what was he supposed to do? Matthew was new to this sort of thing.

He sighed as he rested his elbow on the table and cupped his cheek. His eyes darted across the page of the book in his left hand but he wasn't really reading it. All he could think about was how distraught Alfred looked in the music room.

"Did you see Alfred and that guy...Arthur was it?" Matthew overheard one girl say as she entered the library.

"Yeah. That has to be the most exciting thing that's happened all year!" Matthew suddenly perked up. _'Most exciting thing that's happened'?_

"Hey! You shouldn't joke about it, those two got sent to detention." The girl responded whilst giving her classmate a friendly dig in the stomach. "Poor Al though, that guy could have choked him to death."

"Yeah, I guess Al wasn't too off the mark there when calling him a psycho." Matthew immediately rose up as the laughing students strolled past him.

So presumably the two of them had gotten angry at each other, Arthur had attempted to strangle Alfred, and then the two got sent to detention - And it was all his fault. Matthew felt guilt take over his body as he returned his library books to their allocated shelves. How could he have let something like this happen? Sure, he resented Arthur for what he had done, but there was no denying that he still liked him in some ways. He never thought that things could get so bad that his two classmates would try and kill each other.

But what could Matthew do now? He was just an invisible mouse who was no help at all to this situation, he had played his part and now he had to watch the consequences unfold.

Even though the whole idea of it scared him, he knew he would have to face Arthur at some point.

* * *

Matthew let out a sigh of relief as he exited the school building. Luckily, he hadn't run into Alfred or Arthur and so at least he would be able to have more time to think of something to say when that did happen. He smiled as he headed towards the front gate, but he stopped as he noticed Arthur.

He was leant up against the school building, staring blankly at a silver lighter he was twirling in his fingers. Matthew bit his lip as he came to a halt. He had fantasied about Arthur's gentlemanliness being a façade and that he was really a bad boy who liked to smoke and ride motorcycles, but he never once thought that there was a chance that it could be true. Matthew shook his head, it was clear why Arthur looked so distant.

Matthew gulped – was Arthur so depressed that he was going to become a hooligan? He clenched his fists before heading in the direction of Arthur.

"Arthur.." He squeaked and Arthur looked startled.

"Oh, Matthew." He stopped fiddling with the lighter to look up and smile softly at his classmate.

"Y-You know...cigarettes are bad for you." Matthew internally winced at what he had said, of course Arthur would know that.

"Oh?" He chuckled, resuming fiddling with the lighter. "No, I don't smoke. This was a gift from a relative, it's precious to me is all. You needn't worry about me though, Matthew."

"Sorry for prying.." Matthew mumbled as Arthur met his gaze. "It's just..I don't want you to endanger your life in anyway." The desire to avert his gaze was strong, but instead he stared into Arthur's eyes – which, he noted, were missing their usual sparkle. Arthur stared, his lips parting slightly. "I'm..I'm so sor-"

"No." Arthur interrupted as he averted his gaze to the floor. "You have no need to apologise. I'm the one who should be saying sorry."

Silence grew between them for a moment before Arthur sighed.

"I really am sorry, Matthew." He glanced at Matthew who was now looking down at his fingers which he was fidgeting with._ 'Sorry doesn't make everything better..'_ "I know, saying that I'm sorry doesn't make it okay." Matthew looked up to Arthur in shock. "But...I hope you'll accept my apology anyway."

Matthew smiled faintly. "Of course."

"And if there's any way I can make it up to you..Just say the word." Arthur slipped the lighter into his trouser pocket before returning a smile.

Now that he thought about it, there was something that Arthur could do for him. He had signed up to be on the prom committee as he wasn't going to go to prom (no one would ever ask him, and he was sick of going to every school dance alone and having punch spilled on him every single time because the students claimed to have 'not noticed him'.), but that changed once Alfred had asked him. He had gotten stuck with clean-up duty this year since more of the popular students had already grabbed the better jobs such as catering and decorating.

It was strange, he thought. Every other dance he and a few others had to plan everything all on their own, but this year other students seemed to want to get involved – probably because it would be their last high school dance.

And that's where Arthur would come in. He'd simply swap places with him since he was pretty sure that he couldn't drop out of his position – and he was almost certain that Arthur wouldn't be attending Prom now anyway.

"You're...not attending Prom by any chance..Are you?" He watched Arthur stiffen at his question.

"No." He grew concerned as Matthew smiled at him.

"Good..because I have a favour to ask." Arthur furrowed his brow, he hadn't really thought that he would have to do anything to make up for what he did to Matthew, but he supposed his request couldn't be that bad. "There...has been a change of plan. I'm going to be going to Prom after all, but that would mean that I need to put someone on clean-up duty in my place."

"Oh...Sorry, Matthew. But I don't really want to be doing anything associated with Prom.." He trailed off as he looked at Matthew's expectant face. He sighed "Oh, all right."

Matthew smiled. "Thank you, Arthur. And don't worry, I think Tino and Feliks are on clean-up duty too." Arthur forced a smile before Matthew waved goodbye and left him.

"Cleaning up the mess of happy couples – what fun." He mumbled.


	15. Chapter 15

Alfred couldn't help feeling somewhat guilty as he put on his black suit jacket. He glanced at himself in the mirror, scrunching his nose at how neat and tidy he looked, he felt his heart ache. _'Arthur always dresses smartly..'_ He shook his head as he began to regret asking Matthew to Prom – but he was willing to admit to himself that if he could turn back time, he wouldn't ask Matthew. He wouldn't ask Arthur, or anyone else for that matter, either though. He just wouldn't go. But, it was too late now and Matthew was expecting him to pick him up soon.

He wondered what Arthur would say to how he looked. He'd probably be pleased - he would always comment on Alfred's lazy appearance of jeans and a T-Shirt, saying that he could actually look nice if he wore things that were more sophisticated. Alfred smiled softly as he reminisced, but he soon furrowed his brow. He shouldn't be thinking fondly of Arthur – he was an ass.

As Alfred got into his car and began driving to Matthew's house he wondered, could he and Matthew ever pursue a relationship? Of course, there was no denying that Alfred's heart longed for Arthur but he'd get over him eventually, right? And it's not like Matthew would ever feel the same way about Arthur after what had happened. Alfred almost groaned – what on earth was he thinking? It was too soon to be thinking about things such as this, and he had only asked Matthew to Prom because he felt bad for him. He was certain that Matthew knew that too, they were going to Prom as _friends _and nothing beyond that.

_'Just...forget about all that stuff and focus on having a good time. At least for tonight.'_ He told himself as he pulled into Matthew's driveway. After Alfred knocked on Matthew's door, he panicked. Should he have brought flowers or something? He let out a frustrated sigh, realising that that was what he would have done had he and Arthur gone to Prom together.

* * *

Arthur gazed out of the window nostalgically as he grabbed a fry and shoved it into his mouth. He hated McDonald's but he was feeling depressed and so he allowed himself to gorge out on a Big Mac and large fries – also, McDonald's was once of Alfred's favourite places to eat. _'Alfred and Matthew are probably there by now.'_ He groaned before slurping up some Coke and sighing. This was pathetic.

Feliks had told him on Facebook that even though you were supposed to hang around the school and clean up during the Prom, he didn't actually bother going until after Prom was already finished. Arthur was relieved to hear that and so he decided that he would just arrive at Prom when everyone was gone. He really didn't want to see Alfred and Matthew having such a great time.

Arthur decided that he had lost his appetite and so he shoved the remainder of his food into the bin before leaving. The blonde began walking with no destination in mind – or so he thought until he turned up outside the school. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't really fair to leave Tino to clear up the during Prom messes all by himself – he supposed that he could go inside the gym where the dance was being held, but _only_ to keep him company.

Arthur entered the school and he was greeted by booming pop music. He stared as various students in sparkly dresses and smart suits walked past him, it was strange to see everyone looking so different - even he felt out of place amongst the smart attire.

Arthur, naturally, began to wonder what Alfred was wearing. He scoffed_ 'He's probably just wearing jeans and one of those tuxedo T-Shirts.'_

The Brit paused before he entered the door to the gym but a moment later he swallowed, pushed open the door and went inside. The music was so loud that Arthur was half tempted to cover his ears, he glanced around the room, noting the tatty pink and silver decorations that covered the walls and hung from the ceiling. He scanned the room for Alfred, but it wasn't hard to find him. He was there, dancing in the middle of the dance floor. Arthur's mouth dropped open upon seeing him in a smart, black suit. He had been right all along, Alfred looked so very charming in a suit. He continued to stare. Alfred looked like he was having fun, he looked _happy_. Arthur knew he was stupid to think that there was a chance that Alfred felt depressed and lonely without him – the way that he felt right now but for him. Arthur frowned, even Matthew was dancing – alongside Gilbert and Francis, to his surprise.

This had been a terrible idea and, before he knew it, he was pushing past people on his way out of the gym. Arthur put his hands in his pockets as he headed home. He wanted to feel happy that Alfred was happy – but he just couldn't. He couldn't be satisfied knowing that Alfred was completely fine without him.

* * *

Arthur frittered time away at home, so he was almost relieved when it was time to leave and head back to the school for clean-up duty.

As Arthur walked past various shops on his way to school, he felt his heart ache. Everything seemed to remind him of Alfred. The blonde stopped and stared into the window of a chocolate shop where he noticed blocks of chocolate with 'Be my prom date?' written in icing. He expression grew fond, he wondered if one of the ways Alfred had been thinking of asking him to prom involved chocolate. However, it wasn't long before his expression turned bitter and he soon found himself storming into the store and buying the chocolate. He stood outside the shop as he ripped off the top of the packaging and took a big bite out of it.

He felt tears sting his eyes, the chocolate really was very tasty. He swallowed before folding the plastic wrap over and shoving the remainder of the chocolate into his jacket pocket, tears now streaming down his cheeks. He had always hated this sentimental crap.

After Arthur was sure that he had regained his composure, he headed to school. Things felt eerily quiet as he entered the building, he already began to pick up deflated balloons that were outside the doors. Arthur took a deep breath before walking through the double doors – he hoped that Tino and Feliks wouldn't be too angry that he was late. He entered the room to find confetti streamers all over the floor and the chairs and tables not stacked away. He sighed before placing the deflated balloons into nearby trash bag and noticed Tino pulling down some of the pink streamers that managed to cling to the ceiling for the whole evening.

"Sorry I'm late, I-" He stopped upon seeing someone sat at a table by themselves, and froze as Alfred's head turned around. He just stared, and Alfred stared back. Arthur couldn't quite read his expression, but it seemed that he couldn't do anything logical at the moment. Time seemed to go past, and still neither of them had moved.

"I'll...leave you guys to it for a moment." Arthur heard Tino say, before the sound of the door opening and then closing.

"H-Hi." Alfred mumbled, finally averting his gaze. Arthur closed his mouth, which he had only just realised was still open, before nodding. He couldn't say anything – he didn't know _what_ to say. "Matt said you'd be here on clean-up duty." He stated before rising out of his chair. "I was beginning to think that you weren't gonna show." Alfred sighed as Arthur raised an eyebrow to him, he was stalling for what he really wanted to say.

He walked towards Arthur but was sure to leave a fair distance between them. "I wanted to...apologise for what I said." Arthur's eyes grew wide and he frowned. "It was a horrible thing for me to say...I just got angry, but I know that's no excuse-"

"Shut up, you fool." Alfred furrowed his brow and swallowed as Arthur began walking towards him. "I don't care about any of that anymore." Arthur clenched his fists. "Why aren't you angry with me?" He asked, his voice full of frustration.

Alfred looked confused for a moment before Arthur met his gaze and he saw his face. His expression, it was full of sadness and confusion. But, in truth, Alfred really didn't know why he was no longer angry at Arthur. Perhaps it was the fact that Matthew seemed to be pretty much over the previous events as he danced the night away with Gilbert and Francis. Alfred had tried his best to let go and have fun,he thought that the music and the dancing would have kept his mind off of his British classmate. But ,instead, he just felt lonely. Lonely thinking that he should have been dancing with Arthur instead. He missed him.

"I've done you wrong. So, why don't you leave?" The sadness was now becoming present in his voice and Arthur watched as Alfred looked down at his feet.

Arthur bit his lip as he tried to hold back the tears. He put his hands in his jacket pockets, and that's when he remembered the chocolate. He walked closer to Alfred and quickly shoved the packet into his hand before taking a step back. He stared for a short moment before turning to leave.

Alfred was confused, he looked at the packet that had been placed in his hand. He was curious as to why half of the chocolate was missing. He quickly turned it over, revealing the words 'prom date?' written in pink icing.

Arthur suddenly felt a hand on his wrist, stopping him from going any further. He had no time to think before he was pulled into a warm embrace.

"Yes." Alfred muffled into his shoulder after a moment had passed.

"Wh-What?" Alfred pulled Arthur back so he could look at him. Arthur saw no anger, no confusion, he saw nothing but complete adoration in his eyes. Alfred brushed a stray hair out of Arthur's face before his hand curled around Arthur's chin. He pulled him in for a soft peck.

"Of course, I'll be your Prom date." He whispered.

"Prom is over-" Is all Arthur managed to say before Alfred kissed him again. Alfred pulled back, as if to let Arthur continue, but was surprised to find Arthur pull his lips back onto his.

The two seemed to have gotten lost in the moment, intertwining their fingers and locking their bodies together, as they hadn't even noticed when Tino had re-entered the room. They were brought back to reality when Tino cleared his throat.

"Sorry, lovebirds. I just need to clear away these, I'll be out of your way soon though."

The Brit and the American went bright red before shuffling to the side and out of Tino's way. Arthur watched as Tino began sweeping streamers off of the floor, he bit his lip, wondering if he should be helping him. Feliks was also nowhere to be seen, perhaps he had ditched them after all.

Arthur snapped out of his thoughts as he felt Alfred caress his hand in his own. Arthur quickly pulled his hand away once he realised that their fingers were still locked together and looked up to find Alfred pouting.

"Nu-uh." He uttered before grabbing both of Arthur's hands. Arthur averted his eyes as he became aware of a blush forming onto his cheeks and rolled his eyes as Alfred began swinging their arms left and right. He couldn't help but meet Alfred's gaze again, however. He looked so handsome in his suit and, as Arthur soon found out, his smile was contagious.

Their eyes both immediately darted over to their right as they heard a loud clattering sound. They rushed over to Tino who had tripped and dropped some of the serving plates on the floor.

After they had helped him up, they both decided that it was only fair if they helped him clear up the rest of the mess.

Several trash bags later, and the three of them had finished.

"Thanks again for helping me out." Tino smiled as he put on his coat and Arthur and Alfred followed him out of the gym.

"That's quite alright. I'm just sorry that I didn't come sooner. Feliks did say that we had to come after Prom had already ended." He lied.

Tino chuckled. "Ah, well you should never listen to Feliks." Arthur raised an eyebrow. "He always signs up for these things but he never bothers to turn up." Arthur frowned as Alfred and Tino chuckled together. "Anyway, I'll see you guys later." Tino waved to his two classmates before leaving.

There was silence for a moment as the two of them just stood there. Once Tino was out of sight, Alfred put his arm around Arthur's waist and pulled him in close.

"Oi!" Arthur exclaimed, startled. Alfred chuckled in response.

"Sorry, I like holding you." Arthur blushed lightly which made Alfred's grin widen. "I missed you."

"Idiot." He mumbled whilst digging Alfred in the stomach with his elbow. He smiled softly in the other direction, and wrapped his own arm around Alfred's waist a moment later.

"I missed you too."

The two walked towards the carpark, hand in hand. Arthur paused as Alfred let go of his hand and walked towards his car, once finding that Arthur was no longer following him, he turned around.

"Where is Matthew?" Arthur asked hesitantly. The response he received was Alfred's chuckling.

"He was taken home by Gilbert. Yeah, I lost my prom date." Arthur looked quite distressed and so he added "Nah, he took quite a shine to Mattie though. You should have seen him, Gilbert was cooing him and calling him 'cutie pie' and Francis looked totally jealous!" He snorted.

"Gilbert and Francis...fighting over Matthew?"

Alfred noticed that worry was spreading itself onto Arthur's face. "Don't worry about it." He said as he took Arthur's hand again. "He seemed to enjoy getting the attention. Guess he could use it, huh?" He smiled softly to Arthur as he watched him sigh.

"Yeah."

A moment later Alfred grabbed the chocolate out of his pocket and took a big bite. "Mmm. This chocolate is really good."

"I know." Arthur chuckled and gasped as he felt Alfred come up behind him,wrap his arms around his waist and squeeze him tightly.

"I knew you were the one that ate a big chunk of _my_ chocolate!"

"I guess I couldn't help myself."

Alfred kissed Arthur softly on the cheek. "C'mon, we should go get some more." He let go of Arthur and took his hand, leading him away from his car.

"But you don't even know where I bought it from!"

"Fine, smart ass. You lead the way."

Arthur sighed. "Let's just go back to the car." He stopped as Alfred turned around and swept him into a soft kiss.

"Nu-uh. I feel like taking a moonlit stroll with my boyfriend." He winked to Arthur who blushed lightly. He was finally Alfred's boyfriend again.

"It's 10pm and it's summer Alfred, it's hardly moonlit. But, okay, if you insist."

The two then headed down the street, hand in hand, as Alfred pointed up to the pinks and oranges in the sky whilst trying to prove to Arthur that the moon was clearly visible.

* * *

"Want a hotdog, babe?" Alfred grinned to his boyfriend as he rolled some sausages over on the grill.

"No, thanks. I find them disgusting." Alfred chuckled as he used his tongs to place a sausage in a hotdog bun. Their classmate soon appeared behind them and slapped Alfred firmly on the back.

"This one for me?" Gilbert asked, but took the hotdog right out of Alfred's grasp before he could let him reply. The American watched as he took a big bite. "Mmm! Damn, this is good! Not as awesome as mine but...eh, it'll do." Alfred laughed and glanced towards Arthur who was rolling his eyes.

Gilbert spotted Matthew approaching the grill. "Hey Matt, get your ass over here." He called before going over and dragging Matthew into an embrace. "Hey Al, give me a hotdog." He paused to wink at Matthew. "For the bae." Arthur and Alfred snorted and watched as Matthew's cheeks blushed a bright pink.

"_Non_, he is not your 'bae'." Francis stated, purposely squeezing himself between his classmates to separate them. "Leave poor Matthew alone. You're frightening him." Francis draped an arm over Matthew who froze in place. "So, Matthew." Francis cleared his throat before moving a stray hair out of the Canadian's warm face and softly grasping his chin.

"Hey, hey! You already had your turn, and ya blew it." He shoved Francis out of the way, making Matthew almost topple over, but Gilbert managed to catch him and wrap an arm around his waist. "He's not interested. Right, Matthew?"

Alfred and Arthur just watched as Matthew's mouth opened and closed repeatedly and his face grew even redder than before.

"Pah. Things change, mon ami. Relationships can blossom all over again." He stated before pulling at Matthew's arm and forcing him out of Gilbert's grip. "Don't you agree, Matthew?" He smiled at the Canadian and Matthew gulped at the desperate look in his eyes.

"What a load of bullshit!" Gilbert grabbed Matthew's other arm and the two of them began pulling him left and right as they battled for his affection.

"G-Guys!" Matthew squeaked as he was being tugged backwards and forwards forcefully.

"Be careful! You'll end up tearing his arms off, you idiots!" Arthur exclaimed, rising from his comfortable position on the bench. "Honestly, you two are such children." He mumbled, about to return to his position on the chair before Alfred came and hugged him from behind.

"Yeah guys, Artie is right. This is not fair to Mattie." Arthur scowled at the nickname, but his expression softened as the American pecked him on the cheek before returning to the grill.

Gilbert and Francis froze for a moment before quickly letting go off Matthew. The two of them averted their eyes to the floor.

"Sorry...Matthew." Francis uttered.

"Yeah you guys are right, that was not awesome of me." He pulled Matthew in for a hug. "Sorry, cutie." Alfred and Arthur watched as Francis' brows knitted together in anger.

As soon as Matthew was released from Gilbert's grasp, Francis leant over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey! You-You can't do that!" Gilbert exclaimed before he and Francis started to wrestle each other.

"I can do whatever I _please_!"

Arthur and Alfred looked at each other, and then over to Matthew who looked both horrified and flattered. They tried to give him gestures that said 'Do-you-need-some-help-?' and Matthew responded with a small shake to his head.

Alfred shrugged before continuing to flip burgers on the grill and Arthur went to Matthew's side.

"I'm sure they will calm down eventually." He said as they watched their classmates trying to get each other in headlocks but failing to do so. Matthew seemed to be startled when Arthur let out a soft chuckle. "Now, look who's the popular one."

Matthew stared at Arthur's soft expression which soon turned into erupted laughter. Matthew continued to stare, but he soon found himself joining Arthur in a fit of laughter.

"I'm glad everything is behind us now. You're a good person, Matthew." Arthur said fondly to the smaller boy who gave him a soft smile in response.

"So are you."

Arthur put a friendly arm around Matthew. "So, if you choose one of these...idiots, make sure you choose wisely." Matthew giggled before nodding.

"Yeah, I will." Arthur smiled friendly to Matthew before patting him on the shoulder and returning to Alfred's side.

Arthur watched as Matthew approached the two fighting students before taking them each by the hand and leading them over to the picnic blanket where their other classmates were sat. Arthur could tell that Matthew was liking the attention that he was getting from Gilbert and Francis and, even though it was unclear whether he liked either of them or not, Arthur knew that Matthew deserved to be noticed for once.

He smiled to himself, pleased that things had worked out for them after all.

"Aww, Arthur!" The Brit had no time to think before he was wrapped in a warm embrace from Alfred. "You're so adorable when you smile like that."

Arthur blushed softly. For a moment he hesitated. He almost pushed Alfred away through instinct but, instead, he wrapped his own arms around his boyfriend.

"Shut up." He uttered into the American's shoulder.

"Fine. But you know what that means I have to do...right?" Arthur looked up to Alfred, confused. He saw what he could only describe as sheer affection in his sky-blue eyes, his mouth curved into a soft, fond smile as he cupped Arthur's cheeks in his hands.

Arthur closed his eyes and so the soft touch of Alfred's lips on his own was intensified. His heart fluttered as Alfred's lips drifted along his own sweetly and, once Alfred's hands had slunk down to his waist, he looped his arms around his neck, pulling him in closer.

Arthur was on cloud nine, no, ten. Never had he once believed that things could go so perfectly for him. He almost thought he was dreaming. But, here he was, secure in Alfred's grasp. He was gently threading his fingers through his perfect boyfriend's golden locks as their lips caressed against each other in such a gorgeous way that he was sure his heart would stop at any moment.

Alfred pulled away and the two stared into each other's eyes lovingly for what seemed like an eternity. The American stroked Arthur's cheek softly with the back of his hand and Arthur nuzzled into it.

It was at that moment that Arthur truly believed that anything was possible.

"Alfred! The burgers, they're burning!" Elizaveta called from the picnic blanket.

"Eh, fuck it. Let 'em burn." Alfred whispered to Arthur before smashing their lips together again.

**THE END**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

fluff fluff fluff cheese cheese cheseee uwu I just couldn't help myself - what can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending ;) There's probably quite a few mistakes that I'll have to sort out later, but I hope everyone is satisfied with the ending! So, I've completed my first fanfic hooray! And this has definitely been somewhat of a learning experience for me, but its been loads of fun :D I will continue to write, I've got so many more ideas that I'd like to share with you guyss. Thanks to everyone who's read and taken out the time to review this :)


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